"Him don't steal, him don't gamble, talking 'bout man called Michael Campbell" it says at one point on the LP. Michael Campbell (1954 - 2008) alias Mikey Dread came to fame when he started a hugely successful radio show for the Jamaican Broadcasting Service (JBC) in 1976 after training as a radio and sound engineer, with which he spent four hours six days a week Midnight invented the reggae radio format. He was the first to go live on air in Sound System Style. After two years, Campbell fell out with JBC. He quit, founded the Dread At The Control (DATC) label, and began producing himself and others. The first LPs from 1979 copied both the principle and the title of his discontinued radio show: On the debut "Dread At The Controls" (aka "Evolutionary Rockers") Campbell presented himself as a mixture of MC and Deejay. Same with the successor "African Anthem Dubwise " then he not only succeeded in his best album ever, but also one of the most brilliant Dub LPs of all time. A monster of version culture that was essential to the European success story of the Dub contributed. The basis was two songs produced by Mikey Dread by Rod Taylor ("Behold Him" + "His Imperial Majesty") and Edi Fitzroy ("Country Man" + "Miss Molly") as well as five of his own tracks. The riddims were mixed by Prince Jammy in a night session at King Tubby and then shipped to London. There the Englishman Dave Hendley, who died in 2016 and who was close friends with Campbell and Jammy, dived on his short-lived cruise label “African Anthem Dubwise “appeared first, a truckload of jive talk, synth, sound and voice effects over the raw Dubs what gave them an archaic ferocity. In contrast to the over also made in Englanddubs with the Greensleeves albums by Scientist, the action was discussed with Mikey Dread or specifically ordered by him. He had given Hendley a prepared tape with Gimmix, all of which came from his radio show. Including many jingles such as “Oh my gosh, the music just turns me on”, “Riddim full of culture, ya” or “Brandnew - Good For You”, which became classics that were sampled a thousand times over. "African Anthem Dubwise “was last published 15 years ago in an extended deluxe version with a different - banal - cover. Music On Vinyl has re-released the LP in the original artwork, with a modern, bulbous and less shrill sound. It was first published in a limited edition of 1.000 numbered copies in blue vinyl, and on January 29.01.2020, 04 it will be available in black vinyl. Everything else there is to say about the record, Big Youth explains at the beginning of page two: “Who is the man who plays Roots Rock Reggae? Michael Campbell, the Dread at the control, to thrill your soul. Alright? Alright! "(The text first appeared in RIDDIM 20/XNUMX and has been updated.)
