Countless incredible records were made in Kingston between 1968 and 1971 that
have never been able to lose the stigma of being defined as ‘skinhead reggae’ but
in Jamaica the term never meant anything. However Bunny Lee’s Agro sounds meant
a great deal both at home and away. They were tougher than tough, rougher than
rough, kicked like a ‘bovver’ boot and were sharper than a razor cut trim. Raw, pure
and undiluted they hit every time… some eventroubled the UK National Charts.
Bunny Lee first learnt the ways and means of creating hit records during his early
years as a dancer on ‘Teenage Dance Party’ plugging records for Coxsone Dodd,
Duke Reid and Leslie Kong. He moved into record production in 1967 tearing up
the Jamaican charts with The Uniques and ‘Let Me Go Girl’. The hits never stopped
and, alongside close associates and occasionally close rivals, men such as
Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry and Clancy Eccles, Striker began to create a brand new style
that pushed the music forward in startling new directions. The rhythms became faster,
more aggressive and reggae was born.
Striker first visited England that year where, instead of cash advances from Island
Records for releasing his records, he asked director, Dave Betteridge, for instruments
for his musicians back home. On his return to Kingston his musicians put them to good
use and continued to build this dynamic new sound. On one of his subsequent visits to
London Striker met up with Eddy Grant who introduced him to the term ‘agro’ and Striker
decided to adopt the name for his musicians.
“My friend Larry Lawrence used to tease Eddy Grant from The Equals all the time and
Eddy used to say ‘Bunny, your friend is causing me agro’. I said ‘What is that Eddy?’ and
he said ‘aggravation’ meaning that he is annoying him. ‘Talk to him, man’ because Larry
always teased him. Up to now if I see Eddy Grant I call him Agro! ‘Wha’ ‘appen Agro?’ and
he says ‘Yeah Bunny man!’ He’s a good friend. So I said I liked the name and when I went
back to Jamaica I’m going to call my group of guys The Aggrovators. That annoyed the
other musicians… the big musicians! We couldn’t afford the big guys like Jackie Jackson
and Winston Wright… this was after Bobby Aitken stopped playing and said ‘Me a go get
a steady job now’.” Bunny ‘Striker’ Lee
To say the man and his music dominated the period would be a complete understatement.
‘Striker’ was everywhere… travelling between Kingston, where he had opened his Agro
Sounds record shop at 101 Orange Street, and London where he set up his Unity label with
the Palmer brothers for the exclusive release of his productions and his Jackpot subsidiaries
with both Trojan and Pama Records. Ubiquitous does not start to come into it.
Maxie Romeo’s ‘Wet Dream’ spent six months on the UK charts in 1969 without once being
played on the radio. Bunny was always trying new things… or old things. American R&B star
Donnie Elbert’s ‘Without You’, voiced in London over Striker’s Jamaican ‘Lonely Girl’ rock
steady rhythm, was playlisted on national Radio One later that year. It did not make the UK
charts but it did go straight to Number One in Jamaica. Bunny’s brother in law Derrick Morgan’s
stirring ‘Moon Hop’ then bothered the lower reaches of the UK National Charts but the record
would have been a real smash hit were it not for The Pyramids’ (as Symarip) cover version
which they renamed ‘Skinhead Moon Stomp’… the list goes on.
We sincerely hope that this compilation helps to point you in the direction of some of the best
music from this often overlooked period from one of the greatest producers ever…
‘The Agro Man’ himself Bunny Lee.
Noel Hawks
Sources:
Noel Hawks & Jah Floyd: Reggae Going International 1967 to 1976
The Bunny ‘Striker’ Lee Story Jamaican Recordings 2012
CD Track Listing
1. Bangarang - Lester Sterling & Stranger Cole
2. Seven Letters - Derrick Morgan
3. Without You - Donnie Elbert
4. Everybody Needs Love - Slim Smith
5. Cool Operator - Delroy Wilson
6. King Of The Road - U Roy & Lennox Brown
7. Moon Hop - Derrick Morgan**
8. Ten Thousand Tons Of Dollar Bills - Bunny Lee All Stars
9. If It Don’t Work Out - Pat Kelly
10. Hold You Jack - Derrick Morgan
11. Who Cares - Delroy Wilson
12. Wet Dream - Max Romeo
13. Joe Razor - Roy Shirley
14. D.J. Choice - Winston Williams
15. Ain’t Too Proud To Beg - Slim Smith*
16. The Avengers - Tommy McCook*
•CD Bonus Track
Vinyl Track Listing
Side 1
1. Bangarang - Lester Sterling & Stranger Cole
2. Seven Letters - Derrick Morgan
3. Without You - Donnie Elbert
4. Everybody Needs Love - Slim Smith
5. Cool Operator - Delroy Wilson
6. King Of The Road - U Roy & Lennox Brown
7. Moon Hop - Derrick Morgan**
Side 2
1. Ten Thousand Tons Of Dollar Bills - Bunny Lee All Stars
2. If It Don’t Work Out - Pat Kelly
3. Hold You Jack - Derrick Morgan
4. Who Cares - Delroy Wilson
5. Wet Dream - Max Romeo
6. Joe Razor - Roy Shirley
7. D.J. Choice - Winston Williams
Musicians Include:Lyn Taitt & The Jets
Bass: Bryan Atkinson
Drums: Joe Isaacs
Guitar: Nearlin ‘Lyn’ Taitt & Lynford ‘Hux’ Brown
Piano: Gladstone ‘Gladdy’ Anderson &
Theophilus ‘Easy Snapping’ Beckford
Organ: Winston Wright
Bobby Aitken & The Carib Beats
Bass: Vincent White
Drums: Winston Grennan
Guitar: Bobby Aitken
Piano: Bobby Kalphat
Organ: Ansel Collins
The Aggrovators
Bass: Aston ‘Family Man’ Barrett, Bertram ‘Ranchie’ McLean,
Drums: Lloyd ‘Tin Leg’ Adams, Carlton ‘Carlie’ Barrett & Carlton ‘Santa’ Davis
Lead Guitar: Radcliffe ‘Duggie’ Bryan & Earl ‘Chinna’ Smith
Rhythm Guitar: Aston ‘Family Man’ Barrett, Radcliffe ‘Duggie’ Bryan, Alva ‘Reggie’ Lewis
& Lorraine ‘Ranny Bop’ Williams
Piano: Gladstone ‘Gladdy’ Anderson, Ansel ‘Pinkie’ Collins, Oswald ‘Ossie’/‘Nogo’ Hibbert & Bobby Kalphat,
Organ: Glen ‘Capo’ Adams, Ansel ‘Pinkie’ Collins, Oswald ‘Ossie’/‘Nogo’ Hibbert, Lloyd ‘Charmers’ Tyrell
& Winston ‘Brubeck’ Wright
Tenor Saxophone: Roland Alphonso, Val Bennett, Karl ‘King Cannon’ Bryan, Richard ‘Dirty Harry’ Hall,
Tommy McCook & Lester Sterling
Alto Saxophone: Felix ‘Deadly’ Hedley Bennett, Lennox Brown & Herman ‘Seventh’ Marquis
Baritone Saxophone: Herman ‘Seventh’ Marquis
Trumpet: Bobby Ellis & Lester Sterling
Trombone: Vincent ‘Don D Junior’/’Trommie’ Gordon & Ron ‘Willow’ Wilson
Percussion: Denzil ‘Pops’ Laing, Noel ‘Zoot’/‘Scully’ Simms & & Uziah ‘Sticky’ Thompson
Recorded at:
Dynamic Sounds Recording Company Limited, 13/15 Bell Road, Kingston 11, Jamaica
Engineer: Lynford ‘Andy Capp’ Anderson
Federal Recording Studios Limited, 220 Marcus Garvey Drive, Kingston 11, Jamaica
Engineer: Louis ‘Buddy’ Davidson
Treasure Isle Recording Studio, 33 Bond Street, Kingston, Jamaica
Engineer: Byron Smith
WIRL (West Indies Records Limited), 13/15 Bell Road, Kingston 11, Jamaica
Engineers: Lynford ‘Andy Capp’ Anderson & Graeme Goodall
Design by Gary @ Voodoo London,
Photography: Martin Steibelt
All tracks produced & arranged by: Bunny ‘Striker’ Lee
**Except: ‘Moon Hop’ produced & arranged by: Derrick Morgan
Made in the UK. All tracks copyright control