.........March
15, 1998.........March
15, 1998
One of the leaders of the ska/reggae revival popular in England in the
seventies has died on
stage in England. Judge Dread, a/k/a Alex Hughes and often billed as "The
World's No. 1
Rude Boy," had just finished a performance at a theater Thurday night in
Canterbury, England,
when he collapsed.
England's Press Association news reports that the audience, used to Dread's
reputation as a
jokester, assumed it was part of the act until an off duty paramedic in
the crowd realized the
situation was serious and began administering CPR. Dread was pronounced
dead on arrival to
the hospital. The cause of death has not been determined, but a heart attack
is suspected.
Although he was never overly successful in the States, Dread sold millions
of records over his
20-year-plus career. He remained active, often touring Europe and issuing
his songs on a
variety of recent reggae and ska compilations.
Portly, graying, balding, white and over fifty, Hughes, a former DJ and
Rolling Stones security
guard, was hardly a boy even when he began his career, and by today's standards
he wasn't
overly rude. But when he hit the charts with "Dreadmania" in 1973, he and
his peers were
champions of risque themes and songs about injustice and inequality. His
records were banned
by the BBC.
Just a few of his early albums included the aforementioned "Dreadmania"
along with "Working
Class 'ero," (1974), "Bedtime Stories," (1975), "Last of the Skinheads,"
(1976), the hot-selling
"40 Big Ones" (1980), and "Not Guilty" (1984).
Reggae singer dies after collapsing on stage
Dread was pronounced dead at the Kent
and Canterbury
hospital after collapsing Friday at
the end of a show in
Canterbury. Police said he appeared
to have suffered a
heart attack.
An obituary published today in The Times
said he was 53.
There was no information about survivors
or funeral
arrangements.
A burly, blond Englishman whose real
name was Alex
Hughes, Dread used Jamaican musicians
in his band.
He had his first British hit in 1972
with "Big Six," which got
as high as No. 11 during 27 weeks on
the chart. He later
had two songs in the top 10 -- "Big
Seven" in 1972, and
"Je T'aime (moi non plus)," a takeoff
on the
heavy-breathing record by Serge Gainsbourg
and Jane
Birkin, in 1978.
clubs at the end of the '60s and became familiar with reggae through his work,
where he had run into (not literally) the likes of Derrick Morgan and Prince
Buster. In 1969 Buster had a huge underground hit with the obscene Big 5,
a version of Brook Benton's Rainy Night In Georgia. It was clear there was
a yawning gap waiting to be filled when Buster failed to effectively follow his
hit, so Alex Hughes, aka Judge Dread (a name borrowed from a Prince
Buster character) plunged in. His first single, Big Six went to number 11 in
1972, and spent more than half the year in the charts. No-one heard it on
air: it was a filthy nursery rhyme. Big Seven did better than Big Six, and
from this point on Dread scored hits with Big Eight, a ridiculous version
of Je T'Aime, and a string of other novelty reggae records, often co-penned
by his friend, Fred Lemon. Incidentally, Big Six was also a hit in Jamaica.
Five years and eleven hits later (including such musical delicacies as Y Viva
Suspenders and Up With The Cock), the good-natured Hughes, one of
just two acts to successfully combine music hall with reggae (the other was
Count Prince Miller, whose Mule Train rivalled Dread for sheer chutzpah)
had finally ground to a halt in chart terms. He can still be found occasionally
working the clubs, and has also sought employment as a local newspaper
columnist in Snodland, Kent.
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SHAMEFUL
DISCLAIMER |
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