JOHN WAYNE (WITH SLY, ROBBIE & THE AGGROVATORS) - BOOGIE DOWN VINYL LP

VINYL LP    RADIATION ROOTS   RROO342  

The Jamaican dancehall artist known as John Wayne was born Norval Headley in
1962 in rural St Elizabeth. He first reached the studio in the early 1980s, recording “Racket
Girls In Jackets” for the Root Out label, where you can already hear the fearsome skill
unleashed by Wayne at the microphone, showing why he was a favourite of top-ranking
sound systems such as Black Scorpio, Kilimanjaro, Jammy’s and Studio Mix.
In 1983 he travelled to New York, appearing on a 12-inch of Sugar Minott’s
“Jamming In The Street,” while the Hoo-Kim brothers paired him with Johnny Slaughter for
“Rain Fall, Sun Shine.” That same year, Bunny ‘Striker’ Lee produced his only album, titled
Boogie Down and issued by Vista Sounds in the UK.
Because Striker had access to such killer rhythms, the album is a real treat. Opening
track “Jailhouse” rides a slow “Queen Of The Minstrel” recut, patterned similar to Welton
Irie’s “Army Life”; the aptly-named “Heavy Rhythm” recounts his skill at rhyming, “African
Princess” praises black women over a sparse recut of “No More Will I Roam,” “Bend Your
Back” speaks of various aspects of ghetto life, before Side One closes out with title track
“Boogie Down” on the immortal “Late Night Blues” rhythm. On Side Two, “Bubble With
Me” uses a “Drifter” recut to give a massive salute to Bunny Lee and the engineer Professor
at King Tubby’s studio; “Too Greedy” rides a “Real Rock” recut while the self-referential
“Go John Wayne Go” rides Johnny Osbourne’s great “Yo Yo,” the result so appealing that it
gained airplay on John Peel’s influential radio show in England (and Wayne keeps up the
pressure on “Murder Style” and closing number “Me Deep” too).
Wayne scored a massive hit in 1985 when Jammy placed him on “Sleng Teng” for
“Call The Police” and he went on to record for George Phang, King Tubby and Witty Henry
before becoming a producer himself. Sadly, John Wayne died of kidney failure in 2014, so we are fortunate that
Boogie Down captured the man at the peak of his powers.

TRACKLIST
A1 Jailhouse
A2 Heavy Rhythm
A3 African Princess
A4 Bend Your Back
A5 Boogie Down
B1 Bubble With Me
B2 You Too Greedy
B3 Go John Wayne Go
B4 Murder Style
B5 Me Dear