The second ever single on the Rough Trade label featured Augustus Pablo's divine melodica drifting across the Rockers All Stars rhythm of Horace Andy's 'Mr Bassie'. The 1978 release was hugely influential amongst the the nascent post-punk counter loiterers back in the day and by all accounts is one of Geoff Travis's personal favourites. To the best of my knowledge 'Pablo Meets Mr Bassie' was only ever available as a 7", though let's offer a tip of the titfer to the anonymous online DJ who concocted this extended mix.
Here's the great Augustus Pablo, riffing on Leroy Sibbles' 'Guiding Star' riddim, which goes back to the 1971 Heptones single of the same name. 'Classical Illusion' was produced as a 7" single by Gussie Clarke in 1975, with this extended version appearing four years later. 'Guiding Star' was later covered by New Age Steppers on their 'Action Battlefield' LP in 1981.
Saturday Scratch, an occasional series that
shines a light on a selection with a Lee
'Scratch' Perry connection.
Earlier this week, the venerable 1001 Songs
posted an utterly indispensable Augustus
Pablo classic, which I highly recommend that
you check out here - your week just isn't
complete without it. This got me rummaging
around for a choice Pablo cut to feature back here at my place. When it came down to it, one
tune stuck out above the rest, 'Vibrate Onn',
recorded with The Upsetters at the Black Ark
in the Summer of 1977. There are a number of
subtly different mixes available of this
dense, far-out piece of oddness, but this
particular uploader has kindly extended the blissful experience by appending the equally groovy
flipside, 'Dub Onn'.
The ska original of
'Artibella' appeared on Studio One in 1965, credited to Ken Booth & Stranger Cole (here). Boothe released his hit solo version of the song,
produced by Phil Pratt, in 1970 (here).
In 1972 Lee 'Scratch' Perry produced his own
interpretation of the 'Artibella' rhythm with The
Upsetters, initially bringing in Milton Henry
and Junior Byles to voice 'This World' over
it and releasing the results under the moniker
King Medious. Several further adaptations of the rhythm would follow.
Hot on the heels of the duet, Byles was back
behind the vocal mic alone, creating his
classic reading of 'Fever'. At around the same time, the song
was also voiced to good effect by Susan Cadogan.
The versions poured out of the Black Ark.
Here's Jah Lion with 'Hay Fever'.
Jah T voiced 'Lick the Pipe Peter', with
Augustus Pablo's melodica accompaniment,
though I prefer Pablo's instrumental 'Hot and
Cold'.
There are more, but let's conclude this brief
whistle-stop tour with a typically bonkers dubwise
excursion on the 'Artibella' rhythm, 'Fever Grass Dub'.
In the Summer of 1977, Hugh Mundell stopped
in at the Black Ark studio to record two
sides with melodica genius Augustus Pablo in
the producer's chair, 'Why Do Black Man Fuss
& Fight' and today's featured tune, 'Let's
All Unite'. Both cuts were released as
singles and would eventually find their way onto
the following year's LP, 'Africa Must Be
Free By 1983'.
Hugh Mundell wrote his own songs and was
already a remarkably assured artist by 1977,
all the more remarkable when you consider
that at the time of this recording he had
only just turned 15 years of age. A friend,
the toaster Jah Bull, describes Mundell as
'...a very young youth at the time but a
very serious youth. When I say serious I
mean he was like a likkle man, not a likkle
boy.'
In October 1983, Hugh Mundell's house in Kingston was
burgled and while the guilty party was
caught and jailed, the perpetrator's
brother later confronted Mundell on the
street, shooting and killing him.
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