Michael Campbell, higher identified by his stage title Mikey Dread, was one in all Jamaica’s most revolutionary and influential cultural figures. A singer, producer, engineer, broadcaster, and musical visionary, Mikey spent his life pushing the boundaries of reggae, dub, and media, incomes legendary standing not simply in Jamaica, however throughout the worldwide music panorama. Born in 1954 in Port Antonio, Jamaica, Mikey Dread would go on to turn into a sonic trailblazer whose work nonetheless resonates with musicians and followers at present.
From the Classroom to the Controls
A shiny pupil Mikey’s fascination with electronics and sound started early. As a young person, he experimented on sound programs and even ran a pirate radio station at Titchfield Excessive Faculty — then the one college in Jamaica with a broadcasting licence.
“… Me run it, like once we’re at school—we simply placed on a LP, and we’ve a [record] changer, so when one LP accomplished, it drop down, and the subsequent one begin play … what me do, me simply change our frequency to RJR, so if they arrive inside 5 miles of the radio station, your radio simply change to me…” – Wax Poetics
With a rising curiosity in broadcasting, he would MC college capabilities and live shows, typically performing his favorite songs as a part of the leisure. He later pursued electrical engineering on the School of Arts, Science and Expertise (now UTech) in Kingston, the place his ardour for reggae deepened. This led to significant explorations into the style and opened doorways to attach with artists and producers throughout the music business.
But it surely was his groundbreaking tenure on the Jamaica Broadcasting Company (JBC) within the late Nineteen Seventies that catapulted him into the general public eye. His late-night radio present Dread on the Controls was a revolutionary shift in Jamaican broadcasting.
At a time when reggae was marginalised on native radio, Mikey curated four-and-a-half-hour periods full of the freshest roots, dub, and model sides, typically days or hours after their launch due to his shut business connections. With jingles recorded at King Tubby’s studio and playful dread discuss, his present grew to become a cult phenomenon.
“From I did my analysis from school, me already knew all of them man who saying something in reggae. Me know the place to find each man, and me know what them a take care of.”- Wax Poetics
Producing a Legacy
The present was a deliberate departure from the pop-heavy Americana that dominated native radio on the time. It wasn’t lengthy earlier than Dread on the Controls started taking on the airwaves. However inner resistance to reggae and DJ tradition at JBC led to his departure in 1979.
Unfazed, Mikey moved into manufacturing and launched his Dread on the Controls label, shortly establishing himself as a cutting-edge sonic innovator in each Jamaica and the UK, the place he started spending a lot of his time. Whereas within the UK, he attended the Nationwide Faculty of Broadcasting, which led to his narration of Deep Roots Music, a six-part reggae documentary aired on Channel 4 in 1982.
The next yr, he created and hosted Rockers Roadshow, an unique 10-part tv collection showcasing musically gifted youth throughout the UK.
A Pure Collaborator
He recorded with legends like Gregory Isaacs, Dennis Brown, and Augustus Pablo, and produced rising stars like Edi Fitzroy, Earl Sixteen, and Rod Taylor. His partnership with dub pioneer King Tubby, alongside together with his early assist of and work with Scientist, helped form the sound of late Nineteen Seventies and early Eighties roots reggae and dub.
His fearless fusion of reggae with different genres made him a pure collaborator. In 1980, Mikey famously labored with The Conflict on their seminal album Sandinista! which was partly recorded at Channel One Studios in Kingston. This cross over of punk and reggae massively influenced the punk motion in London and helped to push Reggae to a wider viewers.
He labored and toured extensively with UB40 on the peak of their fame, a collaboration that led to the Pave the Means album. Different notable collaborators included Izzy Stradlin of Weapons N’ Roses and Seal, with whom he recorded a model of Lips Like Sugar, featured on the soundtrack of the 2004 movie 50 First Dates.
Champion of Tradition and Consciousness
is dedication to genuine roots music and cultural upliftment by no means wavered, whilst reggae grew to become more and more commercialised. He commonly voiced frustration on the lack of assist for critical, message-driven music, calling out producers who chased fast income over substance.
Ever the innovator, Mikey additionally explored different media. He ran the Caribbean Satellite tv for pc Community in Miami, returned to college to check music and worldwide communications, and continued performing and recording into the 2000s. His later albums, together with Rasta in Management and Life Is a Stage, revealed an artist nonetheless evolving and fascinating with the world round him.
Gone Too Quickly, By no means Forgotten
Mikey Dread handed away in 2008 on the age of 53 after a battle with a mind tumour. However his influence is enduring. He revolutionised Jamaican music broadcasting, pioneered dub manufacturing methods, and introduced reggae into dynamic dialog with international genres. His catalogue, from African Anthem to Roots and Tradition, stays a testomony to his innovation, mind, and unyielding love for sound.
Whether or not behind a microphone, within the studio, or on stage, Mikey Dread was all the time in management.
