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v/a - informer / tear down the dancehall - wackies - vinyl

New Copy

Genre: Reggae / Dub

1. Jah Batta and Black Roots Player - Informer
2. Little John - Tear Down The Dance Hall

Two versions, different dubwise mixes of Sugar Minott’s massive Informer rhythm — both full of living dancehall vibes and Channel One-style deadliness. A graduate of soundsystems like Gemini and Volcano Hi Power, Little John was twelve years old when he voiced this tune. It appeared in 1983 during Sugar’s stay in London after Good Thing Going was a national pop hit in 1980, coming on the Stoke Newington label M & M — presumably named after Minott and his then-partner, Coxsone Dodd’s niece Maxine Stowe. Appearing first with Wackies’ pink-to-orange labels, Batta’s cut is a different mix again to the version here. He bows to U-Roy at the start, before switching to a more contemporary delivery. Sugar is in attendance throughout, almost as if the pair were taking turns at the mic, before the dub takes over. Tip!