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7"
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HSRSS 015EP
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"50 years ago, Trojan released Big Six by Judge Dread. The rest as they say is history. To celebrate this milestone, Harlem Shuffle Records is releasing two outstanding Judge Dread singles previously unavailable on vinyl. Both are strictly limited to a single pressing of 500 copies. Alexander Minto Hughes was born the 2nd of May 1945 in Kent, England. He died the 13th March 1998 on stage during a concert in Canterbury, England, suffering a heart attack. His last words were 'Let's have it for the band'. Dread met Derrick Morgan and Prince Buster among others through his job as a bouncer at London nightclubs such as the Ram Jam in Brixton. After working as a professional wrestler (under the name 'The Masked Executioner') and as a debt collector for Trojan Records, he worked as a DJ on local radio and back in the 1960s he was also sometimes employed to provide security to The Rolling Stones. He was the first white musician to score a reggae chart hit in Jamaica and is especially famous for his humorous sexually explicit lyrics. He holds a record in the Guinness Book of World Records as the artist with the most songs banned from BBC airplay. He notably lived in Snodland, Kent where he once changed the street sign to Dreadland. On this single you'll hear Dread's own 'Skinhead' on the A Side with his ode to his hometown, previously issued only in France in the mid-70s, on the B Side."
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LP
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RR 323LP
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LP version. Radiation Roots present a reissue of Judge Dread's Dreadmania (It's All In The Mind), originally released in 1972. Dreadmania (It's All In The Mind) is Judge Dread's (nee Alexander Hughes) very first album, originally released by Trojan Records in 1972, and is a confirmed ska and skinhead reggae classic. The least likely of reggae stars, the white, Brixton-raised Dread had previously served as a club bouncer (where he met Derrick Morgan and Prince Buster), wrestler, bodyguard, DJ, and debt collector for Trojan Records, before hitting it big in 1972 with "Big Six" -- inspired by Prince Buster's classic "Big 5" -- which reached number 11 on the UK chart and sold nearly a half a million copies. On the back of that hit, and its follow up "Big Seven", the label quickly assembled an album to cash in on their success, and its title, Dreadmania, aptly summed up the state of the nation, as Judge Dread fever gripped the island. Of course, the two hits were included within, as was "Oh She Is a Big Girl Now", which was subsequently spun off as a single, and "Dr. Kitch", which later reappeared as a B side. Appropriately enough, the Chuck Berry hit "Ding A Ling" was covered, and just in case there were any remaining doubts about the album's contents, there's even a track titled "Donkey Dick". "It's all in the mind/It's all in the mind/The rudeness it's all in the mind," the Judge ruled on the opening track. Perhaps, but Dread could make even a nun blush. He was the king of the double entendre, his clever wordplay and wit a revelation for the staid British. But he also captured the imagination of Jamaicans. Dread wrapped his rude lyrics within perfect reggae backdrops, with many of his songs built around classic Jamaican rhythms, adding further authenticity to his sound.
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CD
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RR 323CD
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Radiation Roots present a reissue of Judge Dread's Dreadmania (It's All In The Mind), originally released in 1972. Dreadmania (It's All In The Mind) is Judge Dread's (nee Alexander Hughes) very first album, originally released by Trojan Records in 1972, and is a confirmed ska and skinhead reggae classic. The least likely of reggae stars, the white, Brixton-raised Dread had previously served as a club bouncer (where he met Derrick Morgan and Prince Buster), wrestler, bodyguard, DJ, and debt collector for Trojan Records, before hitting it big in 1972 with "Big Six" -- inspired by Prince Buster's classic "Big 5" -- which reached number 11 on the UK chart and sold nearly a half a million copies. On the back of that hit, and its follow up "Big Seven", the label quickly assembled an album to cash in on their success, and its title, Dreadmania, aptly summed up the state of the nation, as Judge Dread fever gripped the island. Of course, the two hits were included within, as was "Oh She Is a Big Girl Now", which was subsequently spun off as a single, and "Dr. Kitch", which later reappeared as a B side. Appropriately enough, the Chuck Berry hit "Ding A Ling" was covered, and just in case there were any remaining doubts about the album's contents, there's even a track titled "Donkey Dick". "It's all in the mind/It's all in the mind/The rudeness it's all in the mind," the Judge ruled on the opening track. Perhaps, but Dread could make even a nun blush. He was the king of the double entendre, his clever wordplay and wit a revelation for the staid British. But he also captured the imagination of Jamaicans. Dread wrapped his rude lyrics within perfect reggae backdrops, with many of his songs built around classic Jamaican rhythms, adding further authenticity to his sound.
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