Junior Delgado
 The spotlight shines on Jamaican reggae singer Junior Delgado who died unexpectedly at the age of 46 in London, where he had been based.
Born Oscar Hibbert in Kingston, Jamaica on the 25 August 1958 and nicknamed Delgado (taken from the Spanish word for skinny) he won many school show and talent contests. His first recording was produced by Lee Perry in 1973 with the group Time Unlimited. During his musical career Junior Delgado worked with the likes of Lee Perry, Rupie Edwards, Joe Gibbs, Augustus Pablo, Niney, Sly and Robbie, Larry Lawrence, Earl 'Chinna' Smith, Dennis Brown.
Famed for his "roots" style, his most successful songs included Sons Of Slaves, Raggamuffin Year and Away with Your Fussing and Fighting. He set up his own label Incredible Jux and was a regular visitor to Britain.
In 1985 he attracted controversy by releasing Broadwater Farm, which predicted violence on the north London housing estate. When a riot broke out shortly afterwards, culminating in the murder of PC Keith Blakelock, the record was banned. Delgado kept releasing music regularly and in 1998 released the album Fearless, featuring rapper Maxi Jazz from Faithless and Jerry Dammers of the Specials. The following year he played Glastonbury Festival. He continued to play live and recently released a new album, Invisible Music.
His spokesman said the death had been unexpected but was believed to have been from natural causes. Delgado had three sons by his wife Janet. He had four other children. More from the Jamaica Observer >>> |
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