It seems that we have very sadly lost yet another from a time when musical giants walked the earth. Possibly because he was part of a postwar, post-colonial social revolution, Prince Buster seems like some sort of ghetto supe- pioneer: a boxer, soundsystem operator, DJ, producer, live performer, humourist , social and political commentator, owner of a record shop-label-and-jukebox empire, sharp dresser and all round coolest guy in Kingston, and therefore Jamaica, (and therefore quite possibly the world at the time).

All his activities complemented and were complemented by the main event, which was his completely unique and inimitable voice, delivery and lyrics. He pronounced himself Prince, the Voice of the People, and made sure he lived up to his claims by being the best. Just as he apparently made sure he would win every boxing match, he made damn sure he only used the cream of Jamaican musicians, on the hottest and hardest rhythms for his backing tracks and productions.

Prince Buster – five great tracks from the King of Ska Read more

When the time eventually came that he could no longer achieve that, I admire the fact that he largely quit the studio: nothing less than the best was ever going to be good enough for Prince Buster, and that ensured that his incredible output remains undiluted and in tact to this day. He continued with the occasional live appearance, some of which I saw and which were always of the highest possible standard.

I was lucky enough to travel with him to one gig and he really exuded the true meaning of cool ( a word which has become greatly abused now). It didn’t matter what craziness, idiots, moaning or whatever went on around him (as inevitably happens with a legend like him on the road): he remained so completely unphased and calm – courteous but saying not a single word more than was necessary to anyone. It was funny to watch.

Prince Buster really was nobody’s fool and had a brilliant sense of humour. That ghetto humour was at the heart of a lot of his lyrics and a huge part of his popularity in Jamaica. It could be brutal, as could the ghetto morality that went hand in hand with it in his lyrics. One example which I like is his intro to Rude Rude Rudee, a version of the Cuban tune Perhaps, where he more or less issues an order: “You say you are a rude boy … but you live in a glass house … so don’t throw stone!!!”

On the stage when THAT voice was given free rein, it remained completely unspoiled – like his legacy – and came out exactly the same as ever. It really was the cliché of hairs on the back of the neck. He had always mixed singing and speaking so seamlessly and tunefully that at times it is almost impossible to say which of those two things he is doing. You would be very hard pressed to find anyone who has ever mixed those two things together better.

He was the first real ambassador of Jamaican music worldwide, he was a voice of the third world – luckily for us, speaking in English, and that made him accessible to anyone in the rest of the world who spoke English and was willing to listen. At first he was picked up in this country largely by working-class kids who could probably relate to the subject matter. Initially ska and reggae was mainly ignored or ridiculed by the mainstream and rock critics – maybe that was partly because Prince Buster was at the forefront of Jamaican lyricists, blatantly and unashamedly covering subject matter that was more or less unheard of in either Europe or America. From ghetto violence and crime, to sex (in detail), from black power and black pride, to commenting on social injustice and poverty, from advocating freedom from colonialism and solidarity with Africa, to other important matters like ridiculing his musical rivals or consigning them to the boneyard, or describing the music on his own record itself and how good that was – nothing was off limits. In that way lyrically he influenced hip-hop and a lot that was to follow the world over.

Buster and some of his Jamaican peers were liberating the sort of real language and subject matter years before it would eventually become commonplace not just in music, but in mainstream TV drama and comedy. Stylistically , the very idea of reciting over an instrumental backing track, which Buster was a pioneer of, became the basis of hip-hop years later when the Jamaican DJ Cool Herc introduced it to the Bronx. From hip-hop to grime to dancehall to reggae,there can be very little which hasn’t been influenced to some extent by Prince Buster and his combination of singing and talking over rhythms.

Buster was really the first king of Jamaican music and started an international process which, with the help of its second king, made reggae probably the most popular music in the world, only to be eventually surpassed in popularity by hip-hop, a form which it had itself helped create.

I don’t suppose Prince Buster ever made an enormous amount of money himself , but I truly believe he turned out to be among the most influential figures in late 20th century music worldwide. Myself and all the Two Tone bands owe him an enormous debt of gratitude. None of us would have had the career in music we have had if it hadn’t been for Prince Buster and his fellow Jamaican musicians.

In the words of Madness: “Bring back the … we want the … bring back the Prince”.