Katz David - People funny boy : the genius of Lee Scratch Perry

Jamaican ET: Belated Recognition In The New Millenium

by Rainford Hugh Lee Scratch Perry

Thank you David Katz
You have my blessings on this special book
The future facts of life reality knock
God bless you
Good luck
Success
From President ee eo $cratch Perry ABC Love
Mr. Ghost writer
The buyer will be very pleased with this book of Reinford King Hugh Perry Rain all over the Globe
Park to parks
Streets to streets
Lane to lane
Black Ark rain.
I rain facts of life
$un of ord Thunder
Black Ark God Zadkiel
X29, 1999.
Kids God
Kids King
Kids Lord,
Lord Jesus Christ God
INRI.
One Love
X INRI
Jah Love
Enjoy this.

I am indebted to many different people, each of whom helped shape a particular aspect of this biography. Without the help of such dedicated and committed individuals, the book would clearly never have existed and I take great pleasure in thanking all that contributed.

Lee Perrys family have been especially helpful and I would like to thank each member for bravely confronting the turmoil of the past in response to my intrusive questions. His mother, Ina Blythe, even insisted that I occupy her bedroom during my first few days in Hanover, while she shared the spare room with other relatives. Siblings who spoke of early days in Hanover included Beryl (Dulcie), Lesbert (Sonny) and Icelyn (Sitta) Perry, plus Desmond (Lloyd), Veta (Girlie) and Lorna (Miss Nell) Blythe. Half-brother Milton P-Son Blythe deserves special mention for locating a number of musicians and family members, including the late Stainton Archie Moore of Caveman sound system, as well as accompanying me around the northwest of Jamaica and being a fountain of reliable information about the Black Ark.

Though Perrys adopted daughter Michelle and son Mark (Omar) gave only reluctant snippets of information, his son Marvin (Sean) spoke at length about his relationship with his father, as did daughter Marsha, who deserves extra special thanks for finding space for me to occupy during one of my trips to Jamaica and for making me feel a part of the family through home cooking and domino games. Their mother, Pauline Isha Morrison, was also reluctant to provide much information, but clarified certain specifics over time and introduced me to the delights of the Blue Mountains. Present wife Mireille Ruegg Campbell Perry provided much frank information and allowed me to retain a strong link with Scratch after he moved to Switzerland, while former girlfriends Vicky Nelson and Sandra Cooley also provided useful information, as did daughter Cleopatra and youngest offspring Gabriel and Shiva.

Along with statements from the man himself, the many musicians, singers, producers, executive producers and engineers that worked with Scratch or his material provided the bulk of additional information presented in this text, several graciously answering my questions on more than one occasion. Extra special thanks are due to my former neighbour, Winston Doctor Alimantado Thompson, for friendship and three trips to Belgium with his band; to Rudy Mascoll and Jennifer Romeo, for making me feel I had family outside the USA; to Max Romeo for driving me all over Jamaica, locating numerous musicians and for making sure I saw aspects of the island that would otherwise have remained hidden; and to Neil Mad Professor Fraser for keeping me abreast of all things Perry, as well as for collaborating with me on live dub events. I would also like to thank the many journalists, photographers, filmmakers, sound system personnel and other industry figures that shared their experiences and material with me.

Helpful interview coordination was provided by various folk in Jamaica, the UK, USA and Japan, all of whom receive my gratitude, as do those who conducted joint interviews with me, including Lol Bell-Brown of the sorely missed Boom Shacka Lacka, loyal friend Ray Hurford of the inspiring Small Axe, Patricia Meschino of Global Rhythm/Sky Writings, Adrian Christani, formerly of Greensleeves mail order department, and Dave Hallworth, who also has my thanks for providing French and German translations. John Sergent assisted with video transfers and made many helpful comments on the first completed chapter of the book, while Bethlehem Tekle and Tekle Alemu helped make sense of Amharic adaptations; Dr. Carolyn Cooper, Professor of Literary and Cultural Studies at the University of the West Indies, Mona, Jamaica, made useful contextual comments and introduced me to particularly helpful colleagues. I also thank photographer Adrian Thomas for his fine work in what were often very trying circumstances.

Several key enthusiasts allowed access to their record, film and video collections or provided me with recordings, news clippings and other items, including Steve Barrow of Blood and Fire, broadcaster and author Roger Steffens, founder of the Beat magazine, Jeremy Collingwood of Trax On Wax, Trevor Wyatt of Island, James Dillon of Amoeba, Brandan Kearney of Nuf Sed, Kelly Maurice of Eight For Eight Music, Darren of Nations Vibration sound system, conservationist Andrew Rush, and collectors Gary Simons, Jos Klijn and Todd Campbell, while plenty of radio disc jockeys helped educate me over the years, most notably Doug Wendt, whose Midnight Dread radio programme on KTIM San Rafael was where I first heard Perrys music in my youth. Extra special mention must be made of the late Jack Ruby, who introduced me to the mind boggling reality of the sound system experience by bringing his entire hand crafted 50,000-watt set on a coast-to-coast tour of America in 1982.

I have used several pertinent quotations from fellow journalists in this book. Many of the strongest came from interviews conducted by Bruno Blum, the talented musician, cartoonist, author and former staff writer for Best; the permission he granted for use of the material is readily acknowledged. Other crucial quotations were culled from the work of Carl Gayle and Chris May in Black Music, Danny Kelly in NME and from interviews conducted by Karel Michiels. This book has also been informed by the work of writers such as Chris Lane in Black Music