“I named it flyers but they didn’t know what flyers was…” Bunny ‘Striker’ Lee
Bunny Lee’s flying cymbals, or flyers rhythms, dominated the dancehalls and the charts
during 1974 and 1975. The style, based around the Philadelphia disco, or ‘Philly Bump’,
sound of an open and closed hi-hat was not necessarily novel but Striker’s innovations of
bringing a number of different elements into play most certainly was. Johnny Clarke’s
interpretation of Earl Zero’s ‘None Shall Escape The Judgement’, not only opens this set
but also opened the floodgates for the flyers style. The story had begun the previous year
with Lowell ‘Sly’ Dunbar…
“Sly played the flying cymbals first… I said to Sly ‘You played it on the Delroy Wilson tune
for Channel One named ‘It’s A Shame’ and Sly played it before that with Skin, Flesh & Bones
on ‘Here I Am Baby Come And Take Me’, the Al Green tune, when Al Brown sung it for
Dickie Wong with the ‘tsk, tsk, tsk’ sound on the hi-hat. I named it flyers but they didn’t know
what flyers was!” Bunny ‘Striker’ Lee
“The first session I played for Channel One was Delroy Wilson’s version to
The Spinners’ ‘It’s A Shame’. It was a big hit for Jo Jo”. Sly Dunbar
“Santa was a great drummer. He started with The Soul Syndicate.
He wore size fourteen shoes and that’s why when he licked the drum it sound!
Sly played the drums so brilliant but he played different from Santa… I said
“Santa I want something that sounds like it’s come from outer space!
This tune now, ’None Shall Escape The Judgement’, I was going home one night and
I heard Chinna and Earl Zero playing this tune and Earl Zero was singing ‘None shall
escape the judgement in this time…’ I come and I listened and I said ‘I like the tune, you
know, Chinna’ and Earl Zero said ‘Mr Lee. Come tomorrow down to Duke Reid’s studio.
I think I’m going to record it.’ They had ‘Dum, dum, dum… dum dum dum…dum dum dum
dum dum dum dum’ and the beat of it…
So I asked Johnny Clarke to sing it with Earl Zero … they rehearsed it the whole day… but
Earl Zero could only sing the front part so that night I asked Siddy (Bucknor) to run off a cut
of the rhythm... ‘I a go try something’. That night me and Johnny Clarke… we were always
around together… we were up at Tubbys and Tubbys said ‘This guy can’t manage the song’
and I said ‘Johnny. Do you think you could a do it?’ and Johnny went into Tubby’s studio.
One cut! One cut! No error or nothing… ‘cause he’d been rehearsing it with Earl Zero the whole day.
It’s not the right name really. Anytime I did a session I used to get loads of Kentucky Fried Chicken
for the musicians and when it came they’d say ‘put up the flyers for Striker’ meaning the wings,
which I loved, and they used to say ‘Striker. When you a go fly?’ And everybody started to get
puzzled when Johnny Clarke hit with this flyers. I used to love eat the chicken wings and
I’d said ‘Santa… that drum sound on ‘Here I Am Baby’... I like it’ so when the rhythm done I
said ‘It’s named flyers’ through the chicken wings. Sly had played it but he never realised
what he had and because I loved my chicken wings we just named it flyers (sings) ‘tsk, tsk, tsk, tsk…’
So that night when we went up to Tubbys with the rhythm I said ‘Tubbs. You’ll like this rhythm... it’s
different. When we do it I want something like it’s from outer space on the intro’. Tubbys passed it
through the high pass filter on his machine where he pushed up one of the things on his board and
it thinned it out. Styled it out man! (sings) ‘tsk, tsk, tsk...’ Bunny ‘Striker’ Lee
And, before too long, “every tune we put out we put the rhythm behind it” and every Kingston
producer followed suit with their own variation of Striker’s flying cymbals rhythms…
CD Track Listing
1. This A The Best Version
Source: None Shall Escape The Judgement – Johnny Clarke
2. Believe In Dub
Source: You Must Believe Me – Delroy Wilson
3. Botheration Dub
Source: Hey Girl Don’t Bother Me – Delroy Wilson
4. Feel So Good Dub
Source: Feel So Good – Derrick Morgan & Hortense Ellis
5. General Dub
Source: The General – Cornell Campbell
6. Get Ready For The Master Dub
Source: Get Ready – Delroy Wilson
7. A Moving Version
Source: Move Out Of Babylon Rastaman – Johnny Clarke
8. God Father Dub
Source: Godfather – Barry Brown
9. Behold Dis Ya Dub Of Class
Source: Behold – Johnny Clarke
10. Sunny Dub
Source: Dear Dawn – Barrington Spence
11. Judah Dub
Source: The Lion Of Judah – Cornell Campbell
12. Another Version
Source: This Is Another Festival – Jackie Edwards
13. Talkative Dub
Source: I Had A Talk With My Woman – John Holt
14. Revenge Of The Flying Cymbals
Source: None Shall Escape The Judgement – Johnny Clarke
15. Dub Magnificent*
Source: Wherever I Lay My Hat/Head – Cornell Campbell
16. Dub From The Roots*
Source: Rainy Night In Georgia – John Holt
17. A Closer Dub*
Source: Close To Me – Johnny Clarke
18. Dub You Can Feel*
Source: A Love I Can Feel – John Holt
CD Bonus Track
Vinyl Track Listing
Side 1
1. This A The Best Version
Source: None Shall Escape The Judgement – Johnny Clarke
2. Believe In Dub
Source: You Must Believe Me – Delroy Wilson
3. Botheration Dub
Source: Hey Girl Don’t Bother Me – Delroy Wilson
4. Feel So Good Dub
Source: Feel So Good – Derrick Morgan & Hortense Ellis
5. General Dub
Source: The General – Cornell Campbell
6. Get Ready For The Master Dub
Source: Get Ready – Delroy Wilson
7. A Moving Version
Source: Move Out Of Babylon Rastaman – Johnny Clarke
Side 2
1. God Father Dub
Source: Godfather – Barry Brown
2. Behold Dis Ya Dub Of Class
Source: Behold – Johnny Clarke
3. Sunny Dub
Source: Dear Dawn – Barrington Spence
4. Judah Dub
Source: The Lion Of Judah – Cornell Campbell
5. Another Version
Source: This Is Another Festival – Jackie Edwards
6. Talkative Dub
Source: I Had A Talk With My Woman – John Holt
7. Revenge Of The Flying Cymbals
Source: None Shall Escape The Judgement – Johnny Clarke
Musicians Include:
The Aggrovators:
Drums: Carlton ‘Carlie’ Barrett, Carlton ‘Santa’ Davis & Lowell ‘Sly’ Dunbar
Bass: Aston ‘Family Man’ Barrett, George ‘Fully’ Fullwood & Robert ‘Robbie’ Shakespeare
Lead Guitar: Earl ‘Chinna’ Smith
Rhythm Guitar: Aston ‘Family Man’ Barrett & Tony Chin
Keyboards: Ansel Collins, Bernard ‘Touter’ Harvey,
Ossie ‘Nogo’ Hibbert & Winston ‘Brubeck’ Wright
Tenor Saxophone: Tommy McCook
Alto Saxophone: Lennox Brown
Trumpet: Bobby Ellis
Trombone: Vincent ‘Don D Junior’/’Trommie’ Gordon
Percussion: Noel ‘Scully’ Simms & ‘Barnabus’
Recorded at:
Channel One Recording Studio, 29 Maxfield Avenue, Kingston 13, Jamaica
Dynamic Sounds Recording Company Ltd., 15 Bell Road, Kingston 11, Jamaica
Harry J Recording Studio, 10 Roosevelt Avenue, Kingston 6, Jamaica
Federal Record Manufacturing Company Ltd., 220 Marcus Garvey Drive, Kingston 11, Jamaica
Randy’s Studio 17, 17 North Parade, Kingston, Jamaica
Treasure Isle Recording Studio, 33 Bond Street, Kingston, Jamaica
Voiced & Mixed at:
King Tubby’s, Tubby Recording Studio, 18 Dromilly Avenue, Kingston 11, Jamaica
Engineers: Osbourne ‘King Tubby’ Ruddock, Lloyd ‘Prince Jammy’ James, Pat Kelly &
Phillip ‘Prince Phillip’ Smart
Produced by: Bunny ‘Striker’ Lee
Designed by: Gary @ Voodoo, London
Manufactured under Licence from: E. Lee
