Talk:U-Roy

Seventh Day Adventists
In the United Reggae interview U-Roy says that when his mother asked him to dress in a more conservative way he replied:

"My mother used to say to me 'Why don't you trim and shave because you will look a much nicer boy' and I used to say 'Listen Mum, I did not tell you not to be a Seventh Day Adventist. I did not tell you not to play that organ on that choir. I'm going to do what I have to do Mummy and I'm not going to disrespect you. But what I believe in is what I believe in'."

I am taking the view that the quote is accurate and that U-Roy has stated his mother's religion and her role as an organist (for the choir) at a local Seventh Day Adventist church.

If I am mistaken in my inference then please revert the statement in the article.

The interview is provided as a ref. If you want to read the interview please click on the link in the refs section.

Sluffs (talk) 14:34, 7 April 2013 (UTC)

Beckford or U-Roy - which name to use in article
When I did the Prince Buster article I used his surname Campbell throughout the article. This was done simply for the reason that it proved easier to read (and type) and also looked tidier then the double name Prince Buster.

Here on this article I'm not too sure which name to use but obviously the hyphen in U-Roy introduces what I would call a "reading obstruction" in the flow. As you are all aware of - speed reading (or the training of the eye and mind to read fast) depends on obstructions not being numerous in number. With the Prince Buster article it was simply a case of reducing the name to one word (Campbell) not two (Prince Buster). Here I propose that we use the name Beckford simply because it doesn't have the hyphen which acts like a "speed bump" on a road (IMO).

I'll start with Beckford but if later the article "looks wrong" I'll replace Beckford with U-Roy. Feel free to revert or change my edits if you disagree. Please remember I am talking about speed reading and the name U-Roy has a hyphen and two capital letters. As an example of the "speed bump" issue here's a famous UK astronomer's name given in the same form Pa-Trick (Moore). As you can see the use of two capitals and a hyphen forces the mind to pause at the unusual combination and even though everyone will deduce that the word should be read as "one" complete unbroken word (as U-Roy should be) it is counter-productive to article "flow" and "speed".

Sluffs (talk) 15:10, 7 April 2013 (UTC)

Source analysis - Placeholder for details on U-Roys early career
There's a certain amount of confusion from the sources available as to the names and dates of the sound systems that U-Roy first worked with. This section is a placeholder for the various details from sources. Please note that this section is for all the relevant details (wrong and right) and the details given may be changed, expanded or removed at a later date.

The first sound system U-Roy worked on is claimed to be Dickie Wong's. There seems to be a problem with the name of this sound system. It is given on some sources as "Doctor Dickie's Dynamite Sound System" (All Music Guide to Hip Hop) and from other sources as "Dickie's Dynamic" (Trojan label site) - one source (Kings Music International - booking agent for U-Roy) mentions that the sound system changed its name at some point in the early 1960s.

The second sound system U-Roy worked with is also problematic. One source (All Music Guide to Hip Hop) says "Sir Mike The Musical Thunderstorm" sound system whereas this is completely missing from other sources (Trojan label site).

Sound Systems Chronology


 * Dr Dickies (first)
 * Sir George
 * Coxsone
 * Sir Percy
 * King Tubby

U-Brown interview with United Reggae:

"U Roy always played King Tubbys sound but occasionally he had a friend called Kentone which was a small sound that came from Cockburn Pen. So while I'd still sometimes go to dance, the impression I got from U Roy and the vibes that I'd feel made me feel connected. So that's where I started out in the dancehall business by repeat-singing his songs, like Wear You To The Ball, This Station Rule The Nation, and my friends started to recognize that my voice sounds close to U Roy."

"I got the break with King Tubby because U Roy met an accident and fractured his leg"

"No. Because U Roy was born Ewart Beckford and how I understand he got the name, if I'm right, is one of his cousins was trying to call him Ewart but couldn't pronounce the name. So he would say "Ew-woy!" and the name just stuck."

Further Research

Interview with U-Roy in French (link placed here for later translation):

http://www.reggaefrance.com/interview-274-u-roy.html

List of producers

I'll have a listen to some of the releases after the Duke Reid singles that gave him his first three hits and before the Dread in a Babylon album. I'll use this to detail some of the less well-known releases by U-Roy and hopefully will be able to incorporate some of these into the article for chronological purposes and as a general listening guide.

Lloyd Charmers (Single: Lean on Me/Black Heart - 1972)

Number one and two set

I've come across some info that says that Coxsone had a sound system called "The Number One Sound" which was run by Stitt. I'm not too sure of the reliability of the source so I'll leave the statement that U-Roy worked on the number two set until I sort out who is taking about what and whether two sound systems were being run by Coxsone (which saw U-roy working on the number two sound) or that there was just the one sound with U-Roy DJ'ing the second set of the night?

Sluffs (talk) 13:08, 8 April 2013 (UTC)

The "iconic" claim for the cover of "Dread in a Babylon"
I am a bit concerned about the reference to the iconic cover. It is iconic in the sense that its aimed at a specific market but unlike Sgt Peppers was never parodied (a sure sign of iconic status) in the mainstream media. It was always a "rebel" cover for those that do not follow the Rastafarian fatih and part of the "course" for those that do. In many respects U-Roy was already an established artist in Jamaica (and later amongst reggae fans and rastas living in other countries) and this album due to the might and reach of Virgin's distribution capabilities allowed the album to achieve international sales and a level of promotion that was sorely missing from his earlier releases on Jamaican labels that could only be bought from specialist outlets at import prices. Is it iconic? - I suppose a good test would be to ask strangers if they can describe the cover - most people can describe the Sgt Peppers cover.

Sluffs (talk) 11:26, 9 April 2013 (UTC)

U-Roy's music and Rastafarianism
The section "U-Roy's music and Rastafarianism" titles his second single as "Earth's Rightful Ruler". I have that song on three different compilations: All list the title as "Rightful Ruler". I've searched for pictures of the label, and found "Rightful Ruler", "Rightfull Ruler", and "Righteous Ruler", but not "Earth's Rightful Ruler". I changed it to "Rightful Ruler". Btrem (talk) 23:29, 26 February 2021 (UTC)
 * Peter Tosh Honorary Citizen (Columbia)
 * Peter Tosh The Toughest (Heartbeat)
 * Upsetters Dry Acid (Trojan)

In addition, the lyrics listed in this section are chanted by Peter Tosh, not U-Roy. U-Roy's vocals start right after the lyrics that are excerpted in this article. So it should be replaced. I don't know if the original author this section wants to choose other lyrics from that song, or choose another song. For now, I'm leaving them as is. Btrem (talk) 23:32, 26 February 2021 (UTC)