King Tubby and the Aggrovators

about

King Tubby is to this day synonymous with dub. He was a man who had a passion for fiddling with sound equipment, and turned that passion into a new musical genre and a veritable art form. He may have started his career as a repairman, but before he was done, his name was one of the most respected around the world. He worked with virtually every artist in Jamaica, and his name on a remix was like gold, a seal of quality that was never questioned. King Tubby was born under the more humble name of Osbourne Ruddock in Kingston, Jamaica, on January 28, 1941. Initially, the closest he got to the music scene was via the airwaves, as Ruddock spent his teens working as a radio repairman. In the mid-'50s, Jamaica was undergoing a revolution that saw the audiences move out of the dancehalls, which had once packed them in with live music provided by big bands, and onto the streets. There the sound systems ruled as traveling outfits set themselves up on a sociable street or corner and blasted records to crowds through a speaker. Initially they were small, but the sound systems quickly grew in size and legend; the competition extremely fierce and often violent. Speakers were the usual victims of these rivalries (sometimes along with the DJs, organizers, and even the audience). The people weren't the only ones who were damaged, which is why in the late '50s the operator of a Waterhouse sound system approached Ruddock for help. The repairman fixed that speaker, then another, and another, un

top songs

albums

Shalom Dub

Dub Echoes

Dub Jackpot

▥

DUB/Original Bass Culture

▥

The Essential

Rebel Music 70's Dub

▥

King Tubby: Controls Playlist

▥

Trojan Dub Massive Chapter One

▥

Trojan Presents: Dub

▥

A Ruffer Version: Johnny Clarke At King Tubby's 1974-78

▥

Trojan Dub Massive Chapter One (Placed By Bill Laswell)

▥

Trojan Presents Dub

similar artists