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by Basil Walters Observer staff
reporter
Radio
disc jock Mikey Dread is
dead. He
succumbed to a brain tumour
late yesterday afternoon at
his family home in Connecticut,
USA at the age of 54. Born
Michael Campbell in Port Antonio,
Jamaica, he distinguished himself
as an extraordinary studio
engineer and presenter at the
now defunct Jamaica Broadcasting
Corporation (JBC) where he
came to prominence in the 1970s
as "The Dread-the-Control
Tower", the name of the
late night show he presented
at a time when reggae music
was scoffed at by many.
One of reggae's
greatest innovators and original
radio engineers/technicians,
the past student of Titchfield
High School, in
2006 celebrated the 30th anniversary
of the night programme which
he started at the JBC, and
revolutionised the after
midnight shift making it
into the most popular slot
on radio, by playing strictly
dub music. This innovation
is seen by many musicologists
as the antecedence of dancehall
as we now know it.
Upon leaving the JBC, Mikey
Dread ventured into recording
and scored with a number of
releases such as Weatherman
Skanking in combination with
Ray I, Barber Saloon, Love
the Dread, as well as albums
such as Dread at the Control,
Evolutionary Rockers and World
War III. Over time he attracted
the attention of British punk
rockers, The Clash, who invited
him to produce some of their
music, the most famous of which
is their single Bankrobber,
and contributed to several
songs on their 1980 album,
Sandinista. Mikey Dread also
toured with The Clash across
Britain, wider Europe and the
US.
He
also worked closely with
producer Trevor Elliot to
launch
musical career of singer Edi
Fitzroy, who was then an accountant
at the JBC. As the news of
his passing surfaced yesterday,
the Sunday Observer got comments
from a number of persons in
the media and the music fraternity,
all of whom hailed Mikey Dread
as a significant contributor
to the development of Jamaican
music. "His (Mikey Dread's)
work, is not only national
or regional, but also international," former
JBC's journalist Leslie Miles
noted. "It spanned the
world scene and made Mikey
a pioneer broadcaster for playing
dub music, and also redefined
aspects of radio, especially
night time radio" Miles,
who is now head of news at
Bess FM, also spoke of the
struggle Mikey Dread faced
at the conservative JBC. Music
consultant Colin Leslie pointed
out that the consequence of
the "fight" he received
from the management was putting
him on at night, but that backfired.
"Remember he is a Portlander,
so I always appreciated the
fact that we shared the same
alma mater (Titchfield High
School), that is something
I've always cherished and I
hold him in high esteem. Although
he was ahead of my era, he
was somebody who laid an awesome
foundation and was very unique
and highly respected," was
how Richard "Richie B" Burgess
of Hot 102, remembered Mikey
Dread.
"We were at JBC together,
and in those days when he started
at the JBC dreads weren't popular
on the air. The powers that
be in management really gave
him a fight," Ali McNab
told the Sunday Observer.
"Michael Campbell, is
someone who revolutionised
radio in Jamaica when there
was still an anti-Jamaican
sentiment regarding music and
culture. In terms of the emerging
dancehall, it was Mikey Dread
who popularised it on radio.
Although it was late night,
he still managed to popularise
dancehall music and bring it
to the masses," was the
perspective of Dennis Howard
who also worked on JBC Radio,
in the post-Mikey Dread era.
And
Irie FM's disc jockey, GT
Taylor hailed the late Mikey
Dread as a role model. "Reggae
music in Jamaica, owes a lot
that that brother. He was one
man who stood up for reggae
in the early '70s, bringing
the music to the forefront.
He is one of my inspirations."
Veteran
singer Freddie McGregor attested
to the fact that "Mikey
Dread was one of the persons
fighting the struggle for reggae
music. Mikey and I did a lot
of shows together over the
years. A wonderful brethren".
SOURCE
Published:
Sunday | March 16, 2008
| The Jamaica Observer
http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/lifestyle/html/20080315T2
00000-0500_133588_OBS_MIKEY_DREAD__GONE_FROM_THE_
CONTROL_.asp
|
