A music icon – drummer, producer and one half of the greatest rhythm sections of all time, Sly Dunbar – has died aged 73.
The news was confirmed yesterday (January 26) by his wife Thelma, who told the Jamaican newspaper The Gleaner: “About seven o’clock this morning, I went to wake him up and he wasn’t responding. I called the doctor and that was the news.” It’s thought that he had been suffering from ill health for some time.
Dunbar first appeared on record way back in 1970 on Dave and Ansil Collins’ Double Barrel, one of the first big reggae hits in the UK. His life changed forever in 1972 when he linked up with bassist Robbie Shakespeare, bonding over a shared love of Motown, Stax and of course reggae. The pair became the rhythm section for Peter Tosh, playing on five of the ex-Wailer’s albums. Their reputation soon grew.
It’s been estimated that the pair played on over 200,000 recordings down the years, but what stands out is the sheer range of music they were involved in. They were the core of the Compass Point All Stars, playing on a succession of albums recorded in that studio by Grace Jones, Gwen Guthrie and Joe Cocker.
They played on Bob Dylan’s Infidels album, on the Rolling Stones’ Undercover and Dirty Work albums. They backed Serge Gainsbourg when he decided to turn his hand to reggae, Ian Dury on his confrontational single Spasticus Autisticus, and worked with Jackson Browne, Yoko One, Sinead O’Connor, Bootsy Collins and Simply Red. They also began releasing albums under their own name and scored a UK hit in 1987 with Boops (Here To Go).
Fast forward to the 1990s and they found the time to put their stamp on a new generation of reggae. They produced Murder She Wrote by Chaka Demus and Pliers which became one of the most successful dancehall records of all time and spawned a small legion of similar riddim tracks.
Tributes have been coming in today. Ali Campbell from UB40 has posted on X: "Words cannot describe how heartbroken I am to hear of the passing of my friend and legend, Sly Dunbar". David Rodigan has described Dunbar as a: “true icon … one of the greatest drummers of all time who played on literally thousands and thousands of recordings”.
And so he now rejoins his partner, Robbie Shakespeare – who died in December 2021 - in musical eternity.
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