Desmond Dekker

★★★★ King of Ska TROJAN. LP

His first 10 singles, with foldout poster.

Rejected by Studio One and Treasure Isle, former welder Desmond Dekker launched his illustrious career at Beverley’s Records in 1963, hitting instantly with the proverbial Honour Your Mother And Father. This limited edition box set reproduces his first 10 releases for the label, charting Dekker’s rise in Jamaica, which saw him crowned King of Ska a good few years before Israelites facilitated his international breakthrough. Although Get Up Adina was popular abroad and It Was Only A Dream a local hit, most other songs are unfamiliar. Sinners, Prepare! is ska gospel, Parents and Labour For Learning wield proverbs to warn of crime’s allure, and Dracula a tale of romance gone wrong; equally appealing non-Dekker B-sides include Don Dummond’s thrilling R&B instrumental Spitfire, Theophilus Beckford’s foreboding Take Your Time, and the lazy ska of Sonny Burke’s Sleepwalk.