For anyone who reads this and doesn’t know what specials/dubplates are: a song recorded across a (mostly) popular riddim, produced for soundsystems and used in soundsystem clashes, biggin’ up the sound and dissing other sounds. Being responsible for numerous heavyweight dubplates, specials used during soundsystem clashes (he made his first specials in 1970 with Roy Shirley, Slim Smith, Cornell Campbell and Johnny Clarke), he released two sets of “King Tubbys Presents Soundclash Dubplate Style Volumes 1 + 2”, where the atmosphere of a clash is demonstrated, complete with hilarious intros by soundman Fuzzy Jones. Perhaps his finest effort is Gregory Isaacs’ album “Warning”, that surfaced after the murder of Tubbs on 6th February 1989. In 1985 he set up the Firehouse, Waterhouse en Taurus labels and started releasing tunes, ranging from brilliant to extremely weak. After Jammy’s release of Wayne Smith’s epochal “Under Mi Sleng Teng” it wasn’t long before his former employer, the late great King Tubby, consolidated the revolution with an even more radical tune: Anthony Red Rose’s brooding “Tempo” (or “Tempa” as he sings it). He rebuilt his studio and continued to keep it right in the heart of the Kingston ghetto. However during the 1980s Tubby had far from given up. King Tubby’s productions are invariably linked with his stunning ’70s output. He explored the possibilities of sound from his small studio, located at the back of his home, at 18 Drumilly Avenue, Kingston 11. Pioneering sound engineer and sound system operator Osbourne Ruddock aka King Tubby did more than any other to popularize and develop the sound. To these “versions” one could add further instrumentation or deejay accompaniment. Around 1969 Kingston-based producers started to issue singles with instrumental “versions” on the flipside of vocal releases, which were actually the basic riddim tracks.
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