“This year I’m gonna be rinsing tunes like crazy” Says Curtis Lynch Jr of Necessary Mayhem records after his ‘Babylon In Helicopter’ with Mr Williamz was voted the best Reggae Song of Europe in 2008. The updated version of ‘Sir’ John Holt’s ‘Police In Helicopter' topped the charts in France and Germany creating waves and introducing North West London’s best-kept secret, Mr Williamz to the world beyond NW10. Curtis’ next project is a tribute album to the works of producer, Augustus ‘Gussie’ Clarke entitled ‘Necessary Mayhem meets Music Works’. The next release from this project is a new version of ‘Rumours aka Dub Plate’ featuring a host of artists including YT, Uk Apache the Arabinghi, and the aforementioned Mr Williamz among others – on the same track. The opening salvo from the album scheduled for a late February release was ‘Champion Sound’, which was featured on VP’s ‘Reggae Gold 2008’ starring a 7-the-hard way line-up which included the our Mr Williamz again alongside, Million Stylez, YT et al.

The Roots of this song go back 21 years and can be traced all the way back to Battersea, SW London via Kingston, Jamaica. Seatbelts on: let’s see if we can give you this one real quick! In 1986 Saxon Sound System MC, Tippa Irie had his first taste of pop success with ‘Hello Darling’. Reaching the top twenty of the UK national pop charts it spent some 5 weeks atop the Reggae charts for Greensleeves
Deborahe Glasgow
Records. At the time, the label had an imprint specifically dedicated to nurturing local talent called UK Bubblers. A young lady on this label with a heart-stopping voice called Debbie G promptly launched her career with an answer to the Tippa hit named, ‘You’re My Sugar’. The UK Bubblers label unfortunately ceased existence after a couple of years but Debbie blossomed into a seasoned professional as the Lovers Rock hits flowed under her full name, Deborahe Glasgow.

Greensleeves happened to be working with Augustus ‘Gussie’ Clarke a producer who’d built the state-of-the-art Anchor Studio, and amassed a collection of talented musicians and songwriters dubbed the Music Works crew who were creating some quality dancehall that would become a benchmark for the 1990’s. They sent Debbie over to Jamaica to record her self- titled debut album. The break away track from this set was ‘Champion Lover’. It just so happened that Gussie was also working with an up & coming Deejay at the time called Shabba Ranks. As Champion Lover blew up, Shabba did an answer version to the track called ‘Mr Loverman’. Music Works spliced the two tracks together and made a duet of it. On a side note, this riddim was later employed for Shabba Ranks, Home T & Cocoa Tea’s ‘Pirates
Mr Loverman - Shabba!
Anthem’, the song that the riddim would whenceforth be named after.

Fast forward a couple of years and Shabba signs to Epic/Sony Records and becomes the world-beating Grammy Kid. Part of his introduction to the pop world was to re-record some of his ‘formative’ hits. The most successful of these was ‘Mr Loverman’. Unfortunately, Epic didn’t reunite the original pairing to record the new version instead employing future Dancehall Queen turned Gospel artist, Chevelle Franklyn. Chevelle was in turn replaced by Diana King in the Fab Five Freddie directed video.

Despite the success of the album, Debbie disappeared from the scene to resurface a few years later with a rendition of SWV’s ‘Weak’. At this time she revealed that she’d been battling Non-Hodgekinson’s Lymphoma. A type of cancer that would eventually take her life. Her sad and untimely passing caused a swelling of emotion so great that a remembrance tour that played London, Birmingham and Manchester took place to help raise funds for the 5 children that she left behind.

This week we should have been celebrating her birthday, unfortunately, her birthday falls the same week as the anniversary of her passing. Deborahe Glasgow, gone but not forgotten Jan 19th 1965 – Jan 24 1994 – The Original Champion Lover.

Pictures: Top Left - Curtis Lynch Jr; Top Right – Tippa Irie; Centre – Deborahe Glasgow; Bottom Left - Gussie Clarke; Bottom right – Shabba Ranks


On This Day.......

1997 – The supergroup Passion Featuring Peter Hunnigale, Nereus Joseph, Mafia & Fluxy and the emergent Glamma Kid were number 1 in the UK Reggae Charts with ‘Share Your Love (No Diggity)’. Glamma was also at number 3 with his 1st solo chart-topper, ‘Moschino’ on the same countdown.






This week’s number one’s around the Reggae world.

Elephant Man ‘Sweep’ – Outaroad.com, JA/Lance O’s Reggae Vibes/France
John Legend Ft: Buju Banton ‘Ca’t Be My Lover’ – Caribbean Hot 30
Ky-enie ‘Lambs Bread’(Pictured) – Germany
Mavado ‘So Special’ – BBC 1xtra
Mikey Spice ‘I Cry, You Cry’ – New York/South Florida
Mr Vegas ‘Mus Come A Road’ - Choice FM, London
Terry Linen ‘A Better Man’ - Jamaica Music Count Down (Reggae)
Vybz Kartel ‘Million Dollar By A Morning’ - Jamaica Music Count Down (Dancehall)





Back 2 Da Future

On Air

Fridays – 10pm -12 Midnight – Aston FM 89.1/www.astonfm.com with Chicken George
Saturdays – 7pm – 9pm – www.playvybz.com
Sunday – 10pm -12 Midnight – The Archive Selection with Natty B on Choice FM 96.9/107.1/www.choicefm.com

Live:

Jan 31st - Lloyd Brown @ Sir Rockwell’s Birthday Party with Freddie Mcgregor et al
Feb 1st - Lloyd Brown @ U.S West Coast and Pacific Islands Spring Tour 2009, Los Angeles,
Feb 6th - Lloyd Brown @ Bob Marley Day Festival, Kona, Hawaii,
Feb 11th – Prezedent @ Lovers Rock Lounge with Carroll Thompson & Guests @ Ruby Lo’s
Feb 13th – Prezedent @ The Studio Club, Bedford
Feb 14th - Lloyd Brown @ Island Paradise Club (Valentine’s Lovers Show), Alameda, California,

Mar 4th – Prezedent @ Lovers Rock Lounge with Carroll Thompson & Guests @ Ruby Lo’s
Mar 15th – Prezedent @ Jean Adebambo Benefit Concert @ Hackney Empire
May 2nd – Lloyd Brown @ Deighton Centre, Huddersfield with Mike Anthony & Kofi

How To Get from Mavado to Chelsea’s Michael Essien in three moves!

1. Wish Stephen 'Digenius' Mcgregor a Happy Birthday. The award-winning producer turns 19 this week! Yup he who created world-beating riddims like the Power Cut, Red Bull & Guinness and most recently the Day Rave is only 19 years old! His co-production (with Delly Ranx) of Mavado’s break-through hit, ‘Weh Dem A Do’ went so far as to dent the Billboard Charts in 2006 and is still tearing up dances and parties to this day!

2. Music was always gonna be a part of Stephen’s life as his father is none other than Mr Freddie Mcgregor. His older siblings Yeshemabeth and Daniel ‘Chino’ Mcgregor both have solo careers in their own right as artists. Although Stephen can drop a rhyme if and when he feels like, his greater talents lie behind the mixing desk! So it’s no wonder that Stephen is now at the helm of his father’s Big Ship label, Studio and Record label.

3. The name of Mr Mcgregor’s company came from a 1982 hit that was his take on the fulfilment of the Marcus Garvey repatriation prophecy. That prophecy came to fruition – sort of in 1957 when the Garvey inspired Kwame Nkrumah named the newly independent Ghana’s shipping fleet the Black Star Line. That name was also given to Ghana’s national football team. The biggest star in that team is one Michael Essien.

And that’s how to get from Mavado to Chelsea’s Michael Essien in three moves!

Back 2 Da Future can be heard on Aston FM 89.1 (Birmingham) - Fridays -12-Midnight - 2am

www.playvybz.com on - Saturdays 7pm-9pm

Archive Selection on Natty B's Reggae Chart Show - Choice 96.9/107.1FM (London) - Sundays - 10-12 midnight