Alexander Minto Hughes (2 May 1945 – 13 March 1998), better known as Judge Dread, was an English

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 ...

and ska musician. He was the first white recording artist to have a reggae hit in Jamaica, and the BBC has banned more of his songs from radio and television than those of any other recording artist, because of his frequent use of sexual innuendo and

double entendre A double entendre (plural double entendres) is a figure of speech or a particular way of wording that is devised to have a double meaning, one of which is typically obvious, and the other often conveys a message that would be too socially unacc ...

s. Following his death, ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' reported, "He sold several million albums throughout his 25-plus year career and was second only to Bob Marley in U.K. reggae sales during the 1970s".

Early life

Hughes was born on 2 May 1945. He was introduced to Jamaican music when he lodged as a teenager in a West Indian household in

Brixton Brixton is an area of South London, part of the London Borough of Lambeth, England. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. Brixton experienced a rapid rise in population during the 19th century ...

, South West London. Hughes, a heavy-set man, met Jamaican artists Derrick Morgan and Prince Buster through his job as a bouncer at London nightclubs such as the Ram Jam in Brixton; and through another job as a bodyguard. After working as a professional wrestler (under the name "The Masked Executioner") and as a debt collector for

Trojan Records Trojan Records is a British record label founded by Jamaican Duke Reid, Lee Gopthal and Chris Blackwell in 1968. It specialises in ska, rocksteady, reggae and dub music. The label currently operates under the Sanctuary Records Group. Th ...

, he worked as a DJ on local radio. In the 1960s he was also sometimes employed to provide security to

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 ...

Music career

When Prince Buster had a big underground hit in 1969 with "Big 5", Hughes capitalized on it with the recording of his own " Big Six", based on Verne & Son's "Little Boy Blue", which was picked up by Trojan boss

Lee Gopthal Lehman Serikeesna Gopthal (1 March 1938 – 29 August 1997), known as Lee Gopthal, was a Jamaican-British record label owner and promoter, the co-founder of Trojan Records. Life and career He was born in Constant Spring, Jamaica, into a family ...

, and released on Trojan's 'Big Shot' record label under the stage name Judge Dread, the name taken from another of Prince Buster's songs. According to UK newspaper ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'', this came about after he played the track to Trojan Records' production team in 1972: one of the team, Joe Sinclair, later recalled: "When Dread brought in his demo, we didn't exactly think it was a national hit but we reckoned we could pick up something around the region of 70,000 sales with the help of a change of title. You see, the Judge called it 'Little Boy Blue', whereas I thought 'Big Six' would create interest by making the association with Prince Buster's 'Big Five' more obvious. It sold 300,000 copies and spent 27 weeks in the British charts. In 1973, it even made No 1 in Africa." "Big Six" reached No. 11 in the UK Singles Chart in 1972, selling over 300,000 copies and spending six months on the

chart A chart (sometimes known as a graph) is a graphics, graphical representation for data visualization, in which "the data is represented by symbols, such as bars in a bar chart, lines in a line chart, or slices in a pie chart". A chart can repres ...

, despite getting no radio airplay due to its lyrics. Further hit singles followed with "Big Seven" (co-written by Rupie Edwards) and "Big Eight" – both following the pattern of lewd versions of nursery rhymes over a reggae backing – as well as "Y Viva Suspenders" and "Up with the Cock". He was the first white recording artist to have a reggae hit in Jamaica, leading him to travel to Jamaica to perform live, where many were surprised that he was white. Dread had 11 UK chart hits in the 1970s, which was more than any other reggae artist (including

Bob Marley Robert Nesta Marley (6 February 1945 – 11 May 1981) was a Jamaican singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Considered one of the pioneers of reggae, he fused elements of reggae, ska and rocksteady and was renowned for his distinctive voca ...

). The '' Guinness Book of World Records'' credited Judge Dread for having the highest number (eleven) of banned songs of all time. Several of his songs mentioned Snodland, the small town in Kent where Judge Dread lived, including "The Belle of Snodland Town". There is a road in the town of Snodland named after him, Alex Hughes Close. Judge Dread was also a songwriter, coming to the attention of

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the ...

, who had planned to record "A Child's Prayer" as a Christmas gift to his daughter Lisa Marie in 1977, but died before the scheduled recording date. Dread helped organise a benefit concert featuring The Wailers and Desmond Dekker and released a benefit single titled "Molly". Despite its lack of innuendo in the lyrics, the track was still banned from radio airplay, and failed to chart. Recordings Dread issued under the pseudonyms JD Alex and Jason Sinclair were banned by the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

Death

Judge Dread died from a heart attack as he walked off stage after performing at The Penny Theatre in

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, in the county of Kent, England; it was a county borough until 1974. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. The city has a mild oceanic climat ...

on 13 March 1998. According to ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'' his last reported words were: "Let's hear it for the band!" When he collapsed, the audience at first thought that this was part of the act. An off-duty paramedic in the crowd realised that it was not and attempted resuscitation; shortly afterwards Dread was taken to the Kent and Canterbury Hospital where he was pronounced dead.

Legacy

Writing in ''The Independent'' following Dread's death, Pierre Perrone noted: "His stage act, mixing vaudeville, music hall, single entendres, and damn-right cheek was undoubtedly a major influence on

Ian Dury Ian Robins Dury (12 May 1942 27 March 2000) was an English singer, songwriter and actor who rose to fame in the late 1970s, during the punk rock, punk and new wave music, new wave era of rock music. He was the lead singer and lyricist of Kilburn ...

(check out "Razzle in My Pocket", the B side of "Sex and Drugs and Rock and Roll") and Buster Bloodvessel, who used to end Bad Manners' shows by baring his huge buttocks; a very Judge Dread move indeed".

Discography

Albums

EPs

Singles

References

External links

*
The Judge Dread Memorial Site

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dread, Judge 1945 births 1998 deaths English male songwriters English male singers Musicians from Kent Musicians who died on stage British ska musicians English reggae musicians Trojan Records artists People from Snodland 20th-century English singers British novelty song performers Obscenity controversies in music 20th-century English male singers British reggae singers