Desmond Dekker & the Aces at the Leadmill (26th Feb)

[ianjones]

Desmond Dekker, the King of Ska, the man who took the “Israelites” to the top of the UK charts, is back! The JuJu Club presents Desmond Dekker and The Aces at the Leadmill, Sheffield on Sunday 26th February.

 

The JuJu Club in Sheffield is celebrating its sixteenth anniversary this year, and to mark the event it will present the return of Desmond Dekker to the Leadmill on Sunday the twenty-sixth of February. The JuJu Club first brought Desmond Dekker to Sheffield in February 2005 as part of our fifteenth anniversary celebrations. The concert was a fantastic success with a large crowd going wild at Desmond’s songs and his electric performance. Despite his age he still throws shapes and pulls amazing moves that would shame any 20-year-old.

 

Director Alan Deadman said that he is very excited to be able to invite Desmond Dekker to play in Sheffield again, as he was one of the artists that inspired the formation of the JuJu Club back in 1990. He added that there has been a growing reggae revival in recent years, and that it is wonderful to go back to the grand old men of Jamaican music, as well as encouraging younger acts.

 

Desmond Dekker is a star who has influenced generations of music fans, since releasing his first single, “Honour Your Father and Mother” in both Jamaica and London in 1963. While waiting for the single's release, Dekker returned to his day job where he met a young co-worker, Bob Marley, another aspiring musician. Dekker introduced Marley to his producer, Leslie Kong. Both Dekker’s and Marley's singles came out about the same time, but it was Dekker who hit the jackpot. With his backing band The Aces, Desmond Dekker enjoyed enormous success in Jamaica with a run of twenty number one hits. Dekker’s biggest international success came in 1969 with “Israelites”, the song everybody knows from its later transformation into an advert for Vitalite margarine. The original lyric was a hard-hitting protest against working conditions in Jamaica, “Get up in the morning, slaving for bread, sir, so that every mouth can be fed”. It was sung in patois and both confused and entranced pop audiences on both sides of the Atlantic. “Israelites” became the first ever reggae song to reach number one in the British charts and also the first Jamaican record to enter the top ten in America. Dekker moved to England in 1969, and his success spearheaded the way for a number of UK chart singles by other Jamaican artists. Desmond Dekker remained the most famous reggae artist on the international scene for many years.

 

Desmond Dekker will appear at the Leadmill in Sheffield on the evening of Sunday 26th February, plus support band TBC and DJ’s Mr Meerkat. Doors open at 7.30pm. Tickets cost £15 and are available from HMV and Jack’s Records in Sheffield. For credit card bookings phone 08700 104555.

 

For information of other JuJu events visit http://www.jujuclub.co.uk or email info@juju.co.uk

[kaii]

Can't wait to see Mr Dekker again after last years fantastic performance at the Leadmill, it's not often you get the chance to see a true legend in your own backyard.