Brent Dowe

Brent Dowe: Pic- Pekka Vourinen 

Brent Dowe, The  Melodian Man 

The Melodians started 1960. We started from when we were young, very young, when we were leaving school - 1960. We went to the amateur talent contests, in 1962 it was the all island contest. We came second that year. We continued lining stage shows - went around the island. Right around until 1966 when we started doing recording. You see in those days you had to do a lot of shows, to really go on to record. You had to be popular with the people.

The Melodians then were Trevor McNaughton, Tony Brevett and yourself, right from the very start? 

Yeah.

And your first recording - what was that? 

Our first recording was at Studio One - a song called ’Late On'. It was our first, and it was a hit too.

How many records did you make for Coxsone? 

We did four in all. Four songs, then we left for Treasure Isle.

Were all of the Studio One tunes released? 

No, only two were released up till now because we went to Treasure Isle. There was a conflict at the time. because it was the sound system days in those time, so whenever one side have an artist, they don't like the next side to have him or them. Coxsone didn't bother to put out those other two songs. 

So it was 1966 when you did your first songs? 

Yeah. April 1966. We went to Treasure Isle in 1967.

How many tunes did you cut for Treasure Isle? 

We did six. We did them one - one, you know. At the time we were in demand so we did them one - one each time. We didn't do an album. 

And then you went to Leslie Kong? 

No, to Tip Top Records. There we did a song called 'Little Nut Tree', 'Swing & Dine' and so on for Mrs Pottinger. We did four in all. But out of the four tunes, two were major hits cause on each record you have another song. In those days we didn't have rhythm on one side, yon used to have two songs, one on each side. The rhythm thing started in 1972. But in those days producers like Duke Reid and Coxsone were

scared of putting out rhythm in case a next man might do it over. They didn't want to put rhythm on the back of it. But it wasn't that bad because everybody wanted to have their own stuff in those days.

At the time people used to come to a dance and listen to 12 new musics every week at least. .So they used to have at least 12 new songs or at least 6. People used to fight for sound in those days, political parties were second. In those days sound system were first, these were the music days. Then Coxsone and Duke Reid never knew that reggae would reach this distance, cause then they were doing music just for the sound

systems. They didn't realise. 

Brent Dowe - Pic: Tero Kaski

They would scratch the labels off of records?

Yeah. And if they were doing a session, they didn't like another man to know. They would run you out of the studio, they say ’get out’. They’re having a session, you can't sit in and listen, you got to gel out.

Who was the backing band in 1966 at Studio One? 

The Skatalites. 

Not the Soul Brothers? 

No, the Skatalites. The Soul Brothers started in 1968. 

After Tip Top you went to Leslie Kong? 

From Tip Top we wint to Leslie Kong. But we were doing songs for Tip Top and Leslie Kong at the time. We

did a song like 'Sweet Sensation' for Beverley’s, then 'No Nola' for Tip Top, cause we weren't

under contract. We were freelance singers you know. Then we back and did 'Rivers Of Babylon'

for Beverley’s, Leslie Kong. Just like that, we were moving around, getting some money. Cause

those times, we just recorded for the money, you get only cash pay you know. Like £ 10 for

one song, you get the £10 and its finish, just like that. No royalties.

 How about afterwards, say for 'Rivers Of Babylon'? 

Yes they did compensate me for that. We always try to write things about people -  what's going on - interesting things.

Who else have you recorded for? 

Lee Perry, Harry J., Tip Top again. Recorded for Dynamics. We went abroad. 

How about studios, were there big differences between the studios? 

There's a lot of difference now. Then the studios were small, you had to do everything at once. Sing

with the band right away, you couldn't miss. You had to bo thinking hard cause everything was going down at once. Each studio had a different sound, even studio today all of them have a different sound. I don't know why it work that way,  but all of them have a different sound. I'm serious. You hear a song from a studio, you can tell the difference. You can say ’hey that's Joe Gibbs, that's Channel One’. It’s so easy to learn. 

It’s been said that Leslie Kong had an international market in mind when he produced records.

Is that true? 

He always record with that intention in mind. He was the first producer who really see reggae music internationally, he started it. The other producers like Duke Reid, they were doing it on a cash basis. They would sell a song to Trojan for like £ 200 cash. Then nothing from that would come to us. The first one to start with all the royalty business was Beverley’s - Leslie Kong - its a fact. When we did ’Sweet Sensation' for him we got $ 900 odd dollars, that was big money in those times, because other guys were getting cash

money. Leslie Kong was really...I miss him, he was the first man that die, and water come to me eye. We all miss him, he was a great guy. He used to think about us a lot.

Beverleys had a lot of international success. 

Yeah, they had Desmond Dekker, with 'Israelites' that went to No.1 in England, they had 007 from Desmond, that was a top ten hit. Then they had the Pioneers, Jimmy Cliff. 

How about the Melodlans? 

Melodians, yeah, we were international like those guys. 'Sweet Sensation' didn't hit on a large scale but 'Rivers of Babylon' did. After the death of Leslie Kong everything kind of shake up because he was pioneer in many fields. Even the festival song competition, he was a great force behind it, he won it four times, he won it twice with Toots &The Maytals and once with Desmond Dekker & The Aces. He was a force behind most of the music business. He was interested in stage shows, like when he was alive we had a lot of stage shows and all that, because he would involve people like Byron Lee to do it. To keep the artist active we used to tour the whole 14 parishes every year.

Did you go overseas? 

Yeah, we went to New York City, we went to New Jersey. I've been to England, but we're never performed in England. I've done a lot of songs solo too, I start from 1975. I was male singer for 1973 over here, Number One male singer for that year. But music is nice man, it’s a good work, a peaceful work. 

Have many of the Melodians songs been recorded by other artists? 

All of our songs

Pic:Pekka Vourinen 

 Are you planning to rerecord any of your old music? 

Yeah, we have started that already, we have at least six tracks. We're going to call it 'The Melodians Greatest Hits'. We didn't have an album with a company, we were always moving around. So all these hit songs are for different stables.

Apart from Leslie Kong what other producers did you like? 

Well I will always like Coxsone and Duke Reid. Without them you wouldn't have no music, I tell you. Like I said, in the early days they weren't recording for money, they were recording for the sound system. So in other words, there is no artist who should ever curse those two guys. 

Did Duke Reid really wear guns and things when he appeared at a dance? 

He used to wear three guns and he used to have his 'Black Jack' too - you know what the American cops use, a gun belt full of bullets - a rifle, and a knife. At one time I see him with a hand grenade! He just having fun, he really didn't shoot anyone! He used to patrol the four corners of Bond Street - no bad man would go around that side, no one would challenge him, he was a great guy. If he was doing a song and the musicians don't play it right, and he got mad, he would burst a shot in the studio, a blank, and boom! He loved music a lot. Whenever a musician play a bad chord it would drive him crazy.

How did he die? 

All of a sudden he took sick, and he turn a christian and went to Miami to have some operation. He came back, he gave up the music business. He got weaker and weaker, and die. Just like that - suddenly. This big strong guy, was took sudden. 

He used to be a Policeman. 

Yeah, a sergeant. The liquor store he had wa one of the largest on the island - Treasure Isle Liquor Store. You see he had the 4 corners - that means two roads. He had a restuarant on one side, a dry cleaners with a residental house on top, on the other side he had a store room. 

On Bond Street? 

Yeah, the 4 corners was his.

 How did Leslie Kong die? 

He had a heart attack, he was 33 years old. He was a guy who think of the music too much though, he didn't want to eat. If he had a session, he would let all of us go to eat, and we would say to him: ’eat something’.

He just kept saying he wanted to get the music done. He used to have a restuarant and bookshop, he was the only one in his family who went into the music business. But he had the backing of his uncle called Fats. I don't really know how he start, but even Bob Marley record an album for him.

How did Mrs Pottinger get into the business? 

I didn't start with her, but I know how she start. Her husband Mr. Pottinger was a record distributor. I think he learned Chris Blackwell the reggae distribution business. Mr. Pottinger now is in Miami. He start, or still has recording business, pressing plants - everything like that. He used to distribute foreign records, local records. He was one of the guys who start the business. His wife now Mrs Pottinger, they had a quarrel, they separated, and she started producing for herself. They were divorced a long time ago, but she still kept the name Pottinger.

And she was the one who took over Duke Reld's business when he died? 

Yeah, she was the one who took him to hospital in Miami.

What was the air play like in those days?

In those days the air play was crazy, every producer had his own show. It was competitive! In that time very heavy competition, quite different from now. It was more exciting you know!

 How about the dancehall style - what do you think about that? 

It’s from the beginning, you use to have four sounds on one road at one time. People in Jamaica love music a lot.

Is it the same today?

It is the same. Anywhere you go in Jamaica today, if there's a sound set up in a good place you can be sure that they will come running out! 

Who started the DJ business?

It started at Coxsone. The first record was Delroy Wilson's 'Go Down Moses'. In the middle of it Coxsone comes in and talks – he says ’Go down Moses, go down and drop your crown, your father was King Pharaoh’. 

You listen to that on Delroy Wilson's first album, you'll hear his voice. Coxsone started the DJ thing. Listen to a guy called King Sporty. He used him on instrumental songs. About 1964 like he would do a song called 'Guns Of Navarone'  by The Skatalites, and he would have him going ’Chicka chick chicka chick’. That's how it start. Then each producer started doing the same thing, that's how it start. You didn't have no talking, he was just background effect, a man using his mouth.