Purpleman, also known as Peter Yellow (born as Anthony Jones; 4 January 1962 – 19 August 2020) was a Jamaican

dancehall Dancehall is a genre of Jamaican popular music that originated in the late 1970s. Initially, dancehall was a more sparse version of reggae than the roots reggae, roots style, which had dominated much of the 1970s.Barrow, Steve & Dalton, Peter (2 ...

deejay A disc jockey, more commonly abbreviated as DJ, is a person who plays recorded music for an audience. Types of DJs include radio DJs (who host programs on music radio stations), club DJs (who work at nightclubs or music festivals), mobile DJ ...

. Being one of three

albino Albinism is the congenital absence of melanin in an animal or plant resulting in white hair, feathers, scales and skin and reddish pink or blue eyes. Individuals with the condition are referred to as albinos. Varied use and interpretation of ...

deejays in the 1980s (

Yellowman Winston Foster , (1956 or 15 January 1959) better known by the stage name Yellowman and also known as King Yellowman, is a Jamaican reggae and dancehall deejay. He first became popular in Jamaica in the 1980s, rising to prominence with a serie ...

, Purpleman, and

King Mellow Yellow King Mellow Yellow (born in Kingston, Jamaica) is a Jamaican Dancehall DJ. Being one of three popular albino DJs in the 1980s (Yellowman, Purpleman and King Mellow Yellow), in song, he often referred to himself as "The Yellow Hands". Career I ...

), he was originally given the name Peter Yellow before using the name Yellowman, and released an album under this name. The name Purpleman was given to him by Nicodemus.

Biography

Purpleman deejayed with

King Jammy Lloyd Woodrowe James (born 26 October 1947),Barrow, Steve & Dalton, Peter: "Reggae: The Rough Guide", 1997, Rough Guides, better known as Prince Jammy or King Jammy, is a Jamaican dub mixer, sound system owner and record producer. He began hi ...

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 ...

, including performing at 'clashes' with other systems such as Youth Promotion, Arrows,

Killamanjaro Founded in the summer of 1969, Killamanjaro is a Jamaican sound system best known for their clashes and large amount of classic reggae dubplates. It is owned by Noel "Papa Jaro" Harper and named after Mount Kilimanjaro. The name was changed ...

and

Black Scorpio Black Scorpio is a Jamaican sound system and record label run by Maurice "Jack Scorpio" Johnson. History Johnson started to operate a single turntable and speaker sound system in 1968 and started the Special I sound system in 1972, changing the ...

at the 'Shock of the Century' in 1985.Lesser, Beth (2008) ''Dancehall; The Rise of Jamaican Dancehall Culture'', Soul Jazz, , p. 172 Purpleman's first release was an album entitled ''Hot'' In 1982. He went on to record a series of albums shared with other deejays including

Sister Nancy Ophlin Russell (born on 2 January 1962), better known as Sister Nancy (or Muma Nancy), is a Jamaican dancehall DJ and singer. She is known as the first female dancehall DJ and was described as being a "dominating female voice for over two dec ...

, and Papa Tollo. In 2014 he made a comeback with a new album entitled "Home once more".

Death

Purpleman died on 14 August 2020 at the

Kingston Public Hospital Kingston Public Hospital (KPH) is a public general hospital in Kingston, Jamaica. It is the oldest public hospital in Jamaica and is the main hospital in south eastern Jamaica. The hospital is operated by the South East Regional Health Authority ...

due to heart-related complications.Dancehallmag.com – https://www.dancehallmag.com/2020/08/30/news/veteran-dancehall-artiste-purpleman-is-dead.html – Accessed 29 January 2021

Albums

*''Hot'' (1982), Black Music/Sonic Sounds (as Peter Yellow) *''DJ Confrontation'' (1982), CF – with

U Brown Huford Brown (born 8 June 1956, Kingston, Jamaica), better known by the stage name U Brown, is a reggae deejay who released eleven albums between 1976 and 1984. Biography Brown grew up in Bond Street in Kingston, living two doors away from Du ...

*''The Yellow, The Purple & The Nancy'' (1982),

Greensleeves "Greensleeves" is a traditional English folk song. A broadside ballad by the name "A Newe Northen Dittye of ye Ladye Greene Sleves" was registered by Richard Jones at the London Stationers' Company in September 1580,Frank Kidson, ''English F ...

– with

, Fathead and

*''Purpleman Saves Papa Tollo in a Dancehall'' (1983), Vista Sounds – with Papa Tollo *''Laserbeam'' (1983), Enterprise (with Sister Candy) *''Confessions'' (1983), Vista Sounds – credited to Yellowman, probably for commercial purposes *''Showdown Vol. 5'' (1982), Hitbound – with Yellowman and Fathead Purple Man No Mash Up The Dance Hall digital download (2019), (Produced by Slikk Rikk San Diego, Ca. Video Edited by Rodney Davis.)

7" Discos

1980s *''D&G'' (198?) *''Dem A Call Mi Name'' (with Saramouche) (198?) 1990s *''DJs Program''(199?)

12" Discos

1970s *''A Fe We Jah'' (*as Ranking Purple) 1980s *''Water Pumpee'' (198?) *''Rose Marie'' (198?) *''Level Vibes'' (1983) *''Keep on Working'' (with

Cornell Campbell Cornel Campbell aka Don Cornel or Don Gorgon (born 23 November 1945 in Kingston, Jamaica) is a reggae singer, best known for his trademark falsetto voice, and his recordings at Studio One in the late 1960s and his later work with Bunny Lee in ...

) (198?) *''Get Me Mad'' (1980) *''Water Pumping'' (1983) 1990s *''Daddymix'' (1996)

References

{{Reflist

External links

Purpleman on Reggaelicious.com
Jamaican reggae musicians Musicians from Kingston, Jamaica 2020 deaths 1962 births People with albinism