Prince Buster (wiki fansite AMG) was born in Jamaica in 1938. A boxer and bouncer, he got his big break (and his nickname) working security for a mobile DJ. (In 1964, he converted to Islam after a chance meeting with Muhammad Ali, which means Mr. Cassius Clay is once again implicated in the story of Stag.) Prince Buster was one of the primary stars of ska in the 1960s, but by the 70s his musical career was more or less dead, and his other business ventures weren't doing so well either. Luckily for him, the ska/reggae revival of the 1980s didn't pass him by.In 1989, Buster joined forces with the world's first gaelic ska band, The Trojans (official myspace AMG), to release a version of Stag (the B-side is a remix I'm also fond of). This is a nice, bouncy, poppy ska version of the legend. Prince Buster and The Trojans reunited last August for a one-off performance in London, and I'll give a piece of delicious candy to anyone who can send me a recording of that performance.
1 comment:
cracking, Mark - Buster & the band are nicely restrained, much more than I'd have expected.
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