Tag Archives: 80s reggae

The Murder of Reggae Legend Peter Tosh 1987 History

THE TRAGIC DEMISE OF “MYSTIC MAN” PETER TOSH –  V5#5 1987

By M. Peggy Quattro

The mystery surrounding the violent death of Reggae Superstar PETER TOSH is as complex and mysterious as the man himself.  The many reports, stories, assumptions, and speculations leave a shroud of doubt and suspicion in staggering proportions.

What a dark day for Reggae and a sad and shameful day for mankind.

What is known to date is that on the evening of Friday, September 11, 1987, three gunmen on motorcycles entered Tosh’s Plymouth Avenue residence in Barbican, Kingston, Jamaica. Apparently known by Tosh, the three were in the house for a short while before the massacre began. What a dark day for Reggae and a sad and shameful day for mankind. One of the killers, Dennis Lobban, turned himself into the Kingston Police only days later, following a warrant issued for his arrest and the involvement of Interpol (the international police force.) Two others are still being detained, their names as yet unannounced.

A Robbery Gone Wrong

The first to be fired upon was Marlene Brown, long-time girlfriend and Tosh’s current manager and accountant. Winston “Doc” Brown was shot and killed on the spot, with Peter being shot several times and reportedly beat about the head. He died hours later at the University of the West Indies Hospital.  Radio personality Jeff “Free I” Dixon also received shots to the head resulting in his death days later. Also wounded were Free I‘s wife Joy, Peter’s drummer Carlton “Santa” Davis, and another friend named Michael Robinson. Continue reading

Singer Jimmy Cliff Interview 1986 – Reggae History

Jimmy Cliff…. Just Playing His Part

By M. Peggy Quattro   V4#2 1986

Jimmy Cliff
Jimmy Cliff at his New Kingston home * © M Peggy Quattro 1986

Prelude 2020:  Jimmy Cliff plays an important part in my evolutionary journey inside  Reggae and Reggae Report.  He was the first Reggae artist I ever heard in 1976 and became my first Reggae friend while working with Don Taylor in 1981. When the magazine took off in ’83, Jimmy most kindly invited me to stay at his home whenever I went to Kingston to conduct business. He wasn’t there most of those times but my hospitable friend Shiela and their young sons, Sayeed and Hassan, were. ♥ This interview  – and accompanying cover shot for V4#2 – were done with Jimmy at his New Kingston home in 1986. ↓


Jimmy Cliff is, without a doubt, the most internationally known Reggae artist alive. In more than 20 years in the music arena, this active, talented youth from Somerton, St. James, Jamaica, has developed exemplary discipline and staying power.

The Early Days

Jimmy CliffAt age 14, James Chambers left for Kingston. But following his first recording, “Daisy Got Me Crazy,” in 1962, James Chambers became Jimmy Cliff – teenage Ska star! Under the wing of famed producer Leslie Kong, Jimmy Cliff skyrocketed to early success with “Hurricane Hattie.” He toured the Caribbean and performed at New York’s 1964 World’s Fair before moving to England to seek his fame and fortune.

Even before his involvement in the sensational cult film The Harder They Come, Jimmy racked up several international hits in his early years, including “Wonderful World” and “Vietnam.” He toured and thrilled audiences in South America, England, and Europe. Continue reading

Maxi Priest: This is My Life – A 2015 Interview & 2020 Update

by M. Peggy Quattro

maxi priest reggae report
Maxi Priest, It All Comes Back to Love 2020

Update 2020:  Due to Covid, Maxi is currently unable to tour. He is, however, busy on social media staying engaged with his fans and promoting his latest LP, It All Comes Back to Love, and his latest music video “I’m All Right,” featuring and produced by our friend Shaggy! Watch the video at the end of this up close & personal interview

(This article is from my 2015 interview)

Maxi Priest with Easy to Love CD
Maxi Priest – Easy to Love CD 2015

No doubt, Maxi Priest is one of the hardest and longest-working men in the Reggae biz. In town to perform for the ONE Caribbean Fest, and, following an exclusive Meet, Greet, and Eat fan luncheon at Miami’s HOT 105 to promote his Easy to Love CD, the supercharged singer sat down inside the Miramar offices of VP Records for a long-overdue catch-up interview.

Our connection goes way back. Maxi Priest has been featured on no less than five Reggae Report magazine covers, and from 1985 to 1998, he was featured, reviewed, interviewed, or mentioned in innumerable issues. In fact, since storming the music scene from his South London base in 1985, Maxi Priest has not stopped writing, recording, performing, promoting, producing, or rockin’ n’ rollin’, all while circling the globe .  Continue reading

Bobby Digital – Reggae/Dancehall Producer for the ’90s

Update 2020: We are saddened to report the passing of producer/engineer Bobby Digital on May 21, 2020. His son Sheldon relayed that his father passed away from a kidney-related illness. The entire Reggae and Dancehall family mourns the loss of this visionary who left his mark and sound on five generations of musical history.  ~ M. Peggy Quattro

Bobby Digital – The Producer for the ’90s

By Clyde McKenzie     V14#3 1996

Bobby Digital, producer extraordinaire, shares the same astrological sign as such notables as Albert Einstein, Quincy Jones, and Mikhail Gorbachev. This affable Pisces is also a first-class studio engineer and creator of some of Reggae’s most compelling rhythms, including the popular “Kette.”

bobby digital, digital b, reggae, dancehall history, reggae history, dancehall, kingston, jamaica, 90s reggae
Robert “Bobby Digital” Dixon
Photographer Unknown

Bobby Digital’s life began in a fashion not far removed from that of many major players in the music industry. He was born poor to Mary, a dressmaker, and Eric Dixon, a carpenter. With his four siblings, Bobby Dixon shared a modest existence in the Olympic Gardens area Kingston, notorious for its natives who find refuge in a life of crime.

Continue reading

Puma Jones on Black Uhuru   V4#5 1986

Puma Jones  “It’s Only the Beginning…” 

Interview & Story M. Peggy Quattro
Puma Jones of Black Uhuru
UNITED KINGDOM – JUNE 18: GLASTONBURY FESTIVAL Photo of BLACK UHURU, Puma Jones of Black Uhuru at Glastonbury Festival 18 June 6 1982 (Photo by David Corio/Redferns)

Puma Jones is the American-born female vocalist in the 1984/85 Grammy Award-winning trio Black Uhuru. One of the first women to break into Reggae’s “Big Time,” Puma proudly acknowledges her position as a forerunner in the recent surge of female recording artists filling international charts today.

Born in Columbia, South Carolina, on October 5, 1953, Puma migrated to New York in the ‘60s, where she grew up listening to Aretha Franklin and Dionne Warwick. Continue reading

Ziggy Marley “Heart to Heart” Interview V6#2 1988

Ziggy Marley “Heart to Heart” Interview 1988

By M. Peggy Quattro

In the beginning… was Robert Nesta (Bob) Marley and a new music form was brought forth… An international sound destined to educate and liberate the people from thousands of years of mental slavery. There followed a son… David Robert Nesta Marley… Brought forth to carry on the age-old musical crusade… a youth reaching out, touching hearts, of a new courageous and wise generation. “This is a new time and a new system,” declares the younger Marley, “my father was like the Old Testament… I am the New Testament.”

A strong, powerful and confident young man, 19-year-old Ziggy (a name given him by his father at an early age) is also warm, intense and somewhat shy. As good friend Judy Mowatt has said “Ziggy is the complete replica of his father…possessing that command like ‘I am here!’” His quick bright smile and soft, yet earnest eyes, displace any trace of egotism.

Serious, soulful Ziggy – NYC interview with MPQ 1987

It did my heart good to catch up with Ziggy in New York at the conclusion of recording Virgin Records’ Melody Makers debut album.

What follows is an interview and overview:

MPQ: So Ziggy, when and where were you born?

Ziggy: Trenchtown, inna mi yard, 1968, October 17.

MPQ: Are you still single, attached, looking?

Ziggy: No (laughs) mi free still… Me nuh look still, but me all right. Continue reading

Half Pint: A Rising Reggae Star  V7#2 1989

Half Pint: A Rising Star

Introduced in V7#2 1989

Born on 11 November 1961, his mother called him London Andrew Roberts. Growing up, however, he was given the name Half Pint by a neighbor in his childhood community [of] Waterhouse in Kingston 11.

Half Pint’s career as a singer/songwriter began to take shape in 1983 when his smash hit single “Winsome” topped the charts in Jamaica. The next couple of years were to be the foundation years for Half Pint. During this time three albums were released – Moneyman Skank, Half Pint in Fine Style, and One in a Million [that] included hit singles like “Political Fiction,” “Mr. Landlord,” “Moneyman Skank,” and “Sally.” Continue reading