David Rodigan’s Top 5 Dubs
Sir David 'Ram Jam' Rodigan should be no stranger to those who know their dubplates, and his arsenal of dubs make him the man to beat at any sound clash, anywhere in the world. He's the perfect selector to reveal where the original dub roots come from, so ahead of his performance on the SonarDome stage last weekend, we asked the mighty Roddy to tell us about cutting his first dub with legendary dub master King Tubby, and to select his personal top five specials, in no particular order, that are guaranteed to destroy the dance.
In January 1979 I went to King Tubby's studio and I asked if I could cut some dubs. I didn't realise at the time, but he put me through a grilling. He played me a selection of songs and each one I said I didn't want to cut. He pretended to be rather annoyed and then he started smiling. He threw the keys to his assistant engineer who then unlocked a cupboard, took out another multi-track reel and put it on. I requested that he cut that there and then. It was the first dub I ever cut.
What he then does is he takes the multi-track and changes the vocal, so you get a different mix to the one that's on the street. That is then your unique dubplate that no one else has. Then he would take the rhythm and dub it.
Barrington Levy - Reggae Music
I choose this one because it was and still is one of his greatest songs, and in 1978 / 79, it was a massive hit island-wide in Jamaica. Also, the dub rhythm is mixed by King Tubby, so it's very special to me.
Johnny Osbourne - Dubplate Playing (In The Ghetto Tonight)
Similarly, this rhythm is also mixed by Tubby, with the vocal from Johnny Osbourne. It's a great vocal inspired by The Beatles song 'Blackbird', changed into dubplate singing - that always gets a big response!
Another classic would be Don Dada by Supercat, mainly because he never records many dubs, he never did and it's a dub of one of his biggest hits. It's what you'd call a classic Supercat recording anyway, but it's a dub of it.
This was actually voiced back in 1985, but he's no longer with us, and this is a very special dub, it uses the Tick-a-Tick-a-Tock Golden Hen rhythm.
Prince Buster - Hard Man Fe Dead
Finally, and I repeat these are in no particular order, I'd say Prince Buster's dub of Hard Man Fe Dead. He's only ever voiced two dubs, and I'm fortunate to say they were both for me. That's a very special dub as well, it's a remake of his ska hit from the early sixties."
