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Mikey Dread R.I.P.

Mikey Dread R.I.P.Legendary performer, studio engineer, producer and radio host, Mikey Dread passed away on Saturday afternoon (15th March) after succumbing to a brain tumour at his family home in Connecticut, USA at the age of 54.

Born Michael Campbell in Port Antonio, Jamaica, Mikey first made his mark on the island’s music scene in 1976, presenting his ‘The Dread The Control Tower’ late night show for the Jamaica Broadcasting Corporation. Three years on, after a long battle against the station’s anti-Reggae stance, he eventually walked out and began concentrating in earnest on his recording career. By this time he had already cut a number of impressive singles, such as the Lee Perry-produced ‘Dread At The Control, ‘Barber Saloon’ for Carlton Patterson’s Black & White label and ‘Robber’s Boost’ for his own 40 Leg imprint, and upon his departure from DBC, launched the aptly-titled Dread At The Controls (D.A.T.C.) label. Over the ensuing months, he released a series of popular 7”s, most notably ‘Love The Dread’, as well as a number of best-selling albums, which included ‘Evolutionary Rockers’, ‘Dread At The Controls’, ‘Africa Anthem’ and ‘World War III’.

By the close of the Seventies, Mikey’s work had attracted the attention of British punk rockers the Clash, who invited him to London to produce their music, with ‘Bankrobber’, a number 12 Pop hit in the summer of 1980, the best-known of their collaborations. There followed tours with the group of the UK, mainland Europe and the US, prompting UB40 to sign him for their DEP international label, for which he later cut the album, ‘Pave The Way’

While in the UK, Mikey studied media production at the National Broadcasting School London, eventually graduating with special commendations, later using his skills to good effect as host on the ‘Rockers Roadshow’ and the six-part Reggae documentary series ‘Deep Roots Music’, both for Channel 4 TV. Meanwhile, he continued to work as a performer, cutting two albums for RAS (‘Profile’ and ‘African Anthem Revisited’) in the early nineties, while also touring Europe and North America with Freddie McGregor, Lloyd Parks and the Roots Radics.

He later became Programme Director, host and producer for the Caribbean Satellite Network in Miami, Florida and worked as a Radio DJ for WAVS 1170AM and WAXY-AM 790 in Miami. But never one to rest on his laurels, he sought to further improve his knowledge of the industry, furthering his education of TV production at the Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale (where he graduated with honours in 1996) and Lynn University in Boca Raton, Florida, at which he gained a Bachelor of Arts Degree in International Communications.

Around this time he also won several awards for his media work, was employed as a photographer for Metro Video, shooting pieces for NBC-6 News station in Miami, performed at numerous festivals around the world and re-launched his Dread At The Controls label, on which he issued the ‘World Tour’ and ‘Rasta in Control’ albums, in 2000 and 2002, respectively.

Over the next few years, Mikey continued to tour and in 2004, he teamed up with US singer Seal to cut a version of Echo & the Bunnymen‘s ‘ Lips Like Sugar’, which featured on both the soundtrack of the motion picture, ‘50 First Dates’ and ‘The Best of Seal’ album.

Last year, he was diagnosed with having a brain tumour and up until recently had been hopeful of making a recovery, but sadly it was not to be. A genuine one-off, Mikey’s zest for life was allied with a keen intellect and no shortage of talent. His passing is a great loss to all of those who came to know him, either in person or through his music.

Laurence Cane-Honeysett

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February 2010

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