Dennis Bovell
Encyclopedia
Dennis Bovell is a reggae
guitarist, bass player and record producer
. He was a member of the British
reggae band
Matumbi
, and released dub-reggae
records
under his own name as well as the pseudonym 'Blackbeard'.
at the age of twelve. He became immersed in Jamaican culture, particularly dub music
, and set up his own Jah Sufferer sound system. Running the sound system brought trouble from the police and Bovell was imprisoned for six months on remand, but was later released on appeal. Bovell was friends at school with future rock musicians including keyboardist
Nick Straker
and record producer
Tony Mansfield
, both of whom later worked with Bovell.
Bovell also worked as an engineer at Dip Records, the precursor to the Lovers Rock label, and he was a key figure in the early days of the lovers rock
genre. He is also known for attempting to fuse disco
rhythms with reggae, most notably with the hit song "Silly Games" by Janet Kay
.
He has produced
album
s by a wide variety of artists
including I-Roy
, The Thompson Twins
, Sharon Shannon
, Alpha Blondy
, Bananarama
, The Pop Group
, Fela Kuti
, The Slits
, Orange Juice
and Madness
. He has collaborated with poet
, Linton Kwesi Johnson
for much of his working life.
Bovell also co-wrote and co-produced the majority of material by British reggae singer Bobby Kray.
In 1980, he wrote the score for Franco Rosso's film Babylon
. Bovell has also written music for the 1983 television drama The Boy Who Won the Pools and Global Revolution (2006).
Compilations:
vibrativa- mas que mirar- 2010 (sonofotron records)
Reggae
Reggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s. While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Jamaican music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady.Reggae is based...
guitarist, bass player and record producer
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
. He was a member of the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
reggae band
Band (music)
In music, a musical ensemble or band is a group of musicians that works together to perform music. The following articles concern types of musical bands:* All-female band* Big band* Boy band* Christian band* Church band* Concert band* Cover band...
Matumbi
Matumbi (band)
Matumbi were one of top British reggae bands of the 1970s and early 1980s, and are best known as the first successful band of guitarist and record producer Dennis Bovell.-History:...
, and released dub-reggae
Dub music
Dub is a genre of music which grew out of reggae music in the 1960s, and is commonly considered a subgenre, though it has developed to extend beyond the scope of reggae...
records
Gramophone record
A gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...
under his own name as well as the pseudonym 'Blackbeard'.
Biography
Bovell moved with his family to South LondonSouth London
South London is the southern part of London, England, United Kingdom.According to the 2011 official Boundary Commission for England definition, South London includes the London boroughs of Bexley, Bromley, Croydon, Greenwich, Kingston, Lambeth, Lewisham, Merton, Southwark, Sutton and...
at the age of twelve. He became immersed in Jamaican culture, particularly dub music
Dub music
Dub is a genre of music which grew out of reggae music in the 1960s, and is commonly considered a subgenre, though it has developed to extend beyond the scope of reggae...
, and set up his own Jah Sufferer sound system. Running the sound system brought trouble from the police and Bovell was imprisoned for six months on remand, but was later released on appeal. Bovell was friends at school with future rock musicians including keyboardist
Keyboard instrument
A keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
Nick Straker
Nick Straker
Nick Straker is a London born musician, who had hits in Europe and the U.S. in the late 1970s and early 1980s.-Career:...
and record producer
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
Tony Mansfield
Tony Mansfield
Tony Mansfield, born May 28, 1943, Salford, England, is an English songwriter, musician and record producer. Mansfield was the main songwriter/producer for New Musik, a synthpop band that performed from 1979 to 1982.-References:...
, both of whom later worked with Bovell.
Bovell also worked as an engineer at Dip Records, the precursor to the Lovers Rock label, and he was a key figure in the early days of the lovers rock
Lovers rock
Lovers rock is a style of reggae music noted for its romantic sound and content. While love songs had been an important part of reggae since the late 1960s, the style was given a greater focus and a name in London in the mid 1970s.-History:...
genre. He is also known for attempting to fuse disco
Disco
Disco is a genre of dance music. Disco acts charted high during the mid-1970s, and the genre's popularity peaked during the late 1970s. It had its roots in clubs that catered to African American, gay, psychedelic, and other communities in New York City and Philadelphia during the late 1960s and...
rhythms with reggae, most notably with the hit song "Silly Games" by Janet Kay
Janet Kay
Janet Kay is a British singer of Jamaican parentage best known for her lovers rock songs of the late 1970s - "Silly Games" and a cover of Minnie Riperton's "Lovin' You". She has also had roles as a theatre and television actress...
.
He has produced
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
s by a wide variety of artists
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
including I-Roy
I-Roy
Roy Samuel Reid better known as I-Roy was a Jamaican DJ who had a very prolific career during the 1970s.-Biography:...
, The Thompson Twins
Thompson Twins
The Thompson Twins were a British pop group that were formed in April 1977 and disbanded in May 1993. They achieved considerable popularity in the mid 1980s, scoring a string of hits in the United Kingdom, the United States and around the globe. The band was named after the two bumbling detectives...
, Sharon Shannon
Sharon Shannon
Sharon Shannon is an Irish musician. She is best known for her work with the accordion and for her fiddle technique. She also plays the tin whistle and melodeon. Her 1991 album Sharon Shannon is the best selling album of traditional Irish music ever released there...
, Alpha Blondy
Alpha Blondy
Alpha Blondy is a reggae singer and international recording artist. Alpha Blondy was born Seydou Koné in Dimbokro, Côte d'Ivoire. He sings mainly in his native language of Dioula, in French and English, and sometimes in Arabic or Hebrew...
, Bananarama
Bananarama
Bananarama are an English female pop duo who have had success on the pop and dance charts since 1982. Rather than relying on a two part harmony, the duo generally sings in unison, as do their background vocalists. Although there have been line-up changes, the group enjoyed their most popular...
, The Pop Group
The Pop Group
The Pop Group are a British post-punk band from Bristol, England, formed in 1978, whose dissonant sound spanned punk, free jazz, funk and dub reggae. Their lyrics were often political in nature...
, Fela Kuti
Fela Kuti
Fela Anikulapo Kuti , or simply Fela , was a Nigerian multi-instrumentalist musician and composer, pioneer of Afrobeat music, human rights activist, and political maverick.-Biography:...
, The Slits
The Slits
The Slits were a British punk rock band. The quartet was formed in 1976 by members of the bands The Flowers of Romance and The Castrators. The members were Ari Up , who died of cancer in October 2010, and Palmolive , with Viv Albertine and Tessa Pollitt replacing founding members, Kate Korus and...
, Orange Juice
Orange Juice
Orange Juice was a Scottish post-punk band founded in the middle class Glasgow suburb of Bearsden as the Nu-Sonics in 1976. Edwyn Collins formed the Nu-Sonics with his school-mate Alan Duncan and was subsequently joined by James Kirk and Steven Daly, who left a band called The Machetes. The band...
and Madness
Madness (band)
In 1979, the band recorded the Lee Thompson composition "The Prince". The song, like the band's name, paid homage to their idol, Prince Buster. The song was released through 2 Tone Records, the label of The Specials founder Jerry Dammers. The song was a surprise hit, peaking in the UK music charts...
. He has collaborated with poet
Dub poetry
Dub poetry is a form of performance poetry of West Indian origin, which evolved out of dub music consisting of spoken word over reggae rhythms in Jamaica in the 1970s....
, Linton Kwesi Johnson
Linton Kwesi Johnson
Linton Kwesi Johnson is a UK-based dub poet. He became the second living poet, and the only black poet, to be published in the Penguin Classics series. His poetry involves the recitation of his own verse in Jamaican Patois over dub-reggae, usually written in collaboration with renowned British...
for much of his working life.
Bovell also co-wrote and co-produced the majority of material by British reggae singer Bobby Kray.
In 1980, he wrote the score for Franco Rosso's film Babylon
Babylon (film)
Babylon is a 1980 film that depicts the struggles of a Black British working class musician. It stars Brinsley Forde of the reggae band, Aswad. It was co-written by Martin Stellman and Franco Rosso who also directed it. It also starred Karl Howman and Trevor Laird...
. Bovell has also written music for the 1983 television drama The Boy Who Won the Pools and Global Revolution (2006).
Discography
- Strictly Dub Wize (1978), Tempus - as Blackbeard
- I Wah Dub (1980), More Cut/EMIEMIThe EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...
- as Blackbeard - Dub Conference (Winston Edwards & Blackbeard At 10 Downing Street) (1980), Studio 16 - with Winston Edwards
- Brain Damage (1981), FontanaFontana RecordsFontana Records is a record label which was started in the 1950s as a subsidiary of the Dutch Philips Records; when Philips restructured its music operations it dropped Fontana in favor of Vertigo Records. In the seventies PolyGram acquired the dormant label....
- Audio Active (1986), Moving Target - as Dennis Bovell and the Dub Band
- Dub Dem Silly (1993), Arawak
- Tactics (1994), LKJ
- Dub of Ages (2003), LKJ
- All Over the World (2006)
- Dub Dem Silly Volume 2 (2006), Arawak - Dennis Bovell featuring Janet KayJanet KayJanet Kay is a British singer of Jamaican parentage best known for her lovers rock songs of the late 1970s - "Silly Games" and a cover of Minnie Riperton's "Lovin' You". She has also had roles as a theatre and television actress...
- Corean Jamaican Connection, Powerslave - Yoonkee meets Dennis Bovell
- Dub Outside (2011), Double Six - Steve Mason & Dennis Bovell
Compilations:
- Decibel: More Cuts and Dubs 1976-1983 (2003), Pressure SoundsPressure SoundsPressure Sounds is a British record label, specializing in releasing reggae music. It is run by Pete Holdsworth although Adrian Sherwood was involved at the inception of the imprint...
- Dub Master (1993), Jamaican Gold
vibrativa- mas que mirar- 2010 (sonofotron records)