Wilbert Augustus Campbell (12 August 1931 – 19 May 2014),George Ruddock
"Jamaican Club Legend Count Suckle Died From 'Heart Attack'"
''The Voice'', 27 May 2014. Retrieved 2 June 2014 known as Count Suckle, was a

Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...

-born

sound system Sound system may refer to: Technology media * Sound reinforcement system, a system for amplifying audio for an audience * High fidelity, a sound system intended for accurate reproduction of music in the home * Public address system, an institution ...

operator and club owner who was influential in the development of

ska Ska (; , ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. It combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues. Ska is characterized by a w ...

and

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica during the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its Jamaican diaspora, diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, "Do the Reggay", was the first ...

music, and African-Caribbean culture, in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

Biography

He was born in

Kingston, Jamaica Kingston is the Capital (political), capital and largest city of Jamaica, located on the southeastern coast of the island. It faces a natural harbour protected by the Palisadoes, a long spit (landform), sand spit which connects the town of Por ...

, and grew up in poverty as one of thirteen children. His friends included Aloysius "Lucky" Gordon and Vincent "Duke Vin" Forbes. He began supplying records for

operator Tom the Great Sebastian, and in 1952 he, Vin and Lenny Fry stowed away on a banana boat. They reached

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, where they settled in

Ladbroke Grove Ladbroke Grove ( ) is a road in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London, England, which passes through Kensal Green and Notting Hill, running north–south between Harrow Road and Holland Park Avenue. It is also the name of the sur ...

.Carl Gayle
"The Reggae Underground, part 6"
first published in ''Black Music'' July 1974, vol. 1, issue 8. Retrieved 6 April 2013.David Katz
"Count Suckle obituary"
''The Guardian'', 4 June 2014. Retrieved 16 June 2014. By about 1956 he was running the Count Suckle Sound System in competition with the one established by Duke Vin, with whom he had several

sound clash A sound clash is a musical competition where crew members from opposing sound systems pit their skills against each other. Sound clashes take place in a variety of venues, both indoors and outdoors, and primarily feature reggae and dancehall music. ...

es. Suckle built up a large following within the African-Caribbean community by playing at private parties, and began attracting an audience of white musicians through his bookings at the Flamingo Club in

Soho SoHo, short for "South of Houston Street, Houston Street", is a neighborhood in Lower Manhattan, New York City. Since the 1970s, the neighborhood has been the location of many artists' lofts and art galleries, art installations such as The Wall ...

.Count Suckle – obituary
''The Daily Telegraph'', 11 June 2014. Retrieved 16 June 2014. In 1961, he became the resident DJ at the Roaring Twenties club at

50 Carnaby Street 50 Carnaby Street in London's Soho district was the site of several important music clubs in the 20th century.Prince Buster Cecil Bustamente Campbell (24 May 1938 – 8 September 2016), known professionally as Prince Buster, was a Jamaican singer-songwriter and producer. The records he released in the 1960s influenced and shaped the course of Jamaican contemporary ...

in Jamaica as well as R&B

record label "Big Three" music labels A record label or record company is a brand or trademark of Sound recording and reproduction, music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a Music publisher, ...

s in the US. His clientele included mods and leading white musicians

Georgie Fame Georgie Fame (born Clive Powell; 26 June 1943) is an English R&B and jazz musician. Fame, who had a string of 1960s hits, is still performing, often working with contemporaries such as Alan Price, Van Morrison and Bill Wyman. Fame is the only B ...

, the

Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for over six decades, they are one of the most popular, influential, and enduring bands of the Album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the band pione ...

and

John Paul Jones John Paul Jones (born John Paul; July 6, 1747 – July 18, 1792) was a Scottish-born naval officer who served in the Continental Navy during the American Revolutionary War. Often referred to as the "Father of the American Navy", Jones is regard ...

Lloyd Bradley Lloyd Bradley (born 21 January 1955) is a British music journalist and author, whose books include 2013's ''Sounds Like London: 100 Years of Black Music in the Capital''. Biography Born in London, England, to recent immigrants from St Kitts, Br ...

''Bass Culture: When Reggae Was King''
Penguin UK, 2001. However, the club was regularly targeted by police raids. In 1964 he began managing his own club, the Cue (later Q) club at 5a

Praed Street Praed Street () is a street in Paddington, west London, in the City of Westminster, most notable for being the location of London Paddington station and St Mary's Hospital, London. It runs south-westerly, straight from Edgware Road to Craven R ...

Paddington Paddington is an area in the City of Westminster, in central London, England. A medieval parish then a metropolitan borough of the County of London, it was integrated with Westminster and Greater London in 1965. Paddington station, designed b ...

."Soho: a brief history of the area"
Sixties City. Retrieved 7 April 2013. This played a mixture of

soul The soul is the purported Mind–body dualism, immaterial aspect or essence of a Outline of life forms, living being. It is typically believed to be Immortality, immortal and to exist apart from the material world. The three main theories that ...

and

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African-American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African-Americans in the ...

music, as well as featuring live performances by leading Jamaican and American musicians including Prince Buster and

Edwin Starr Charles Edwin Hatcher (January 21, 1942 – April 2, 2003), known by his stage name Edwin Starr, was an American singer and songwriter. He is best remembered for his Norman Whitfield-produced Motown singles of the 1970s, most notably the num ...

. In 1970 he also ran Q Records, a short-lived subsidiary of the

Trojan Trojan or Trojans may refer to: * Of or from the ancient city of Troy * Trojan language, the language of the historical Trojans Arts and entertainment Music * '' Les Troyens'' ('The Trojans'), an opera by Berlioz, premiered part 1863, part 18 ...

record label. In 1974, Suckle said of the club:

We lead the field because we've always moved with the times at the Q club. When we opened ska music was the thing, Prince Buster,
Don Drummond Don Drummond (12 March 1934 – 6 May 1969) was a Jamaican ska trombonist and composer. He was one of the original members of The Skatalites, and composed many of their tunes. In 1966, Drummond was convicted of murdering his 23-year-old ...
, Reco,
Tommy McCook Tommy McCook (4 March 1927 – 5 May 1998) was a Jamaican saxophonist. A founding member of The Skatalites, he also directed The Supersonics for Duke Reid, and backed many sessions for Bunny Lee or with The Revolutionaries at Channel ...
, Roland Alphonso, Baba Brooks y'know. They all played here when they toured London. We played all the latest things and the new dances caught on quick.... The Q club is international so we have to mix the records. A few years ago soul was the thing so we used to play more soul.... You just got to stay with the times. If they wanna hear reggae we'll play reggae, if they want rock and roll we'll play it... .

The Q Club changed its name to the People's Club in 1981, and finally closed in 1986, when Suckle retired. In 2008, Suckle contributed to the documentary film ''Duke Vin, Count Suckle and the Birth of Ska'', directed by Gus Berger.''Duke Vin and the Birth of Ska''
Retrieved 7 April 2013. Count Suckle died of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

on 19 May 2014 at his home in

Edgware Road Edgware Road is a major road in London, England. The route originated as part of Roman Watling Street and, unusually in London, it runs for in an almost perfectly straight line. Forming part of the modern A5 road, Edgware Road undergoes sever ...

, London.

References

External links

1967 poster for Edwin Starr at Count Suckle's Cue Club
{{DEFAULTSORT:Suckle, Count 1931 births 2014 deaths People from Kingston, Jamaica Jamaican sound systems British DJs