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previously in REGGAE:

  • The Unity Story
  • Other Riddim Twins
  • The Story Of Dread and Fred
  • The History of Reggae Music

 

 

Recommended stories:

  • The History Of Reggae Music
  • The 8_BIT Heritage
  • The Games Odyssey

THE UNITY STORY

by Dave Hucker, via Pete Murder Tone

(part of the excellent article "Selector's Chioce" that appeared in "THE BEAT" magazine, NOV 2002)
 
Unity was the name of a Northeast London reggae sound system that was very popular in the mid-
to-late '80s. They had developed out of the famous '70s Fatman sound. Unity's main man was Ribs
AKA Robert Fearon and he had been a selector for Fatman. Ribs was a man born to run a sound -
he always wanted to do it and eventually suffered two hernias from humping innumerable speaker
boxes around. At the tail end of the '70s I occasionally used to catch Fatman and selector Ribs at
the Four Aces, the seminal club in Dalston. But by the late '80s when Unity were at their best, I'm
afraid my sound-system days were virtually over, so I rarely got the chance to catch their legendary
vibes. East London was another world and the breadth of London away. For me as a West London
whiteboy it had all got a bit too territorial - I discovered I was not really happy going to places out
of my manor for a reggae session. Also my other musical interests were taking me elsewhere most
of the time. For the sounds it had always been territorial - Unity never really played Brixton. They
might play in nearby Lewisham/New Cross but never in SW9 - that was Saxon/Coxsone turf.
     
 

 

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  • RiddimMethod
  • Kid Kameleon Blog
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____Ribs AKA Robert Fearon

A compilation called Watch How the People Dancing (Honest
Jon's) is a selection of the tunes that Unity made for the sound and
their eponymous label during the early English digital period. Unity
had developed into a heavy-duty sound. They had forged a long-
term relationship with producers Jammy and Striker Lee giving them
exclusive plates. It obviously was a two-way street with Jammy and
Striker getting direct feedback on what was happening on the dance
floor and creating tunes that became hugely popular and very
influential, not only in England but all around the world.

 
   

"Sleng Teng" was the breakthrough. It showed how you could construct a riddim on a cheap
keyboard. In those days Unity used such "unplugged" methods of recording as actually playing the
electric drums live - they had no facility for looping. You can still hear the drum guide plips in the
Casio keyboard that they used for many of the tracks; in fact sometimes they even accentuated the
plip to make it part of the track. One of the big tunes for Unity and their label was Selah Collins'
"Pick A Sound". It still sounds good today with its electronic edge but it sits halfway with the form
and sound of classic reggae chops still in there.

On this release you get the original dj cut and the dub. "Pick A Sound" is followed by Mikey Murka's
righteous "We Try", one of the tracks where the rhythm-guide plip is clearly audible. As far as the
djs who graduated through Unity it is best expressed in Rib's own words from the informative
sleeve notes:

"The more DJs you have on your sound and the better they are is more popular your sound is.
Jack Reuben, Yabby You, Charjan, Roy Ranking, Demon Rocker, Raymond Napthali, Flinty
Badman, Speccy Navigator, the Riddler, there was a few more. At that time whosoever a dj in
Jamaica, Admiral Bailey, Chakademus, Peter Metro, Lieutenant Stitchie, they all had to pass
through come to the dance where we were. Sugar Minott he was living in the area when he created
his Black Roots label. Speccy Navigator brought Selah Collins in, Ruddy Ranks knew Mickey Murka,
Kenny Knots was going out with one of Ruddy's family, Peter Bouncer and Jack Wilson lived in the
area, Jack Reuben brought in Demon and Demon brought his brother Flinty."
   
Demon Rockers and Flinty Badman went on to fame as the Ragga Twins with the Shut Up and
Dance label doing early proto-jungle tracks.
 


The hits keep a-flowing, Kenny Knots' "Watch How the People
Dancing" is a perceptive singjay observation of life out there on the
floor for the selector. Richie Davis says he's not going to wear any
"Lean Boot" no more, Kangol is the new style, while Peter Bouncer
gets ready for the "Dancehall Tonight", Mikey Murka boasts about
how to "Control the Dancehall". But the star track on this album for
me is "Chuck It" from Jack Wilson and Demon Rockers, a wild
rebellious vocal excursion with good piano that is righteous and also
has a revolutionary zeal. Mikey Murka lets us "Ride the Rhythm".
I always liked this cut - it has a New Orleans flavor in the vocal,
stretching the notes sort of like Lee Dorsey.
     
  The demise of Unity came when the music moved on, with the emergence of a full-blown digital
dancehall style and the Nasty Love dj style. Ever the sound-system purist, Ribs had only ever used
one turntable; the new style was mixing and mixing and more mixing. So he hung up his cables and
retired but the legacy of the sound is there on this double vinyl and cd. Another succinct moment in
time and space captured by Honest Jon's for posterity or the end of the world, whichever is sooner.
     
 

________Listen in!
Selah Collins - Pick A Sound
Mikey Murka - We Try
Errol Bellott - What A Wonderful Feeling
Kenny Knots - Watch How the People Dancing
Richie Davis - Lean Boot version
Peter Bouncer - Ready For The Dancehall Tonight
Mikey Murka - Control The Dancehall
 
 
     
 

To hear these tunes, their dubs and much more killahs from that era in full length check our
COMPUTARIZED mixtape over in our TAPES section! And, of course, you should absolutely check
Unity legend Mikey Murka's relick of Horace Ferguson's "Sensi Addict" HERE on Jahtari! It's free!

Mikey's new album "In The Name Of Love" is getting its last touches now and will soon be out on
Realityshock Records!