Starkey Banton, also known as Starkey Super (born David Murray, 15 November 1962), is a British

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

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 a nightclub or music festival), mobil ...

known for his "cultural" lyrics, active since the mid-1970s.

Biography

Born in

Hammersmith Hammersmith is a district of West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It is the administrative centre of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, and identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, in 1962, Murray began performing in the mid-1970s under the name Starkey Super on the London sound system circuit.Larkin, Colin (1998) ''The Virgin Encyclopedia of Reggae'', Virgin Books, , p.20 He changed his stage name to Starkey Banton ("Banton", meaning a deejay full of lyrics) in response to the popularity of several other performers using the Banton name. His debut single, "Lover Dread", was released in 1993, bucking the trend for slackness. This was followed by "Blackman Memories" and "Ganja Baby". In 1994 he worked with the One Love crew, who released his "Wicked Man" single, the popularity of which led to combination hits with

Sweetie Irie Dean Bent (born January 1971), better known as Sweetie Irie, is an English reggae singer and deejay. Early life Sweetie Irie began working on local sound systems as a teenager. Career He gained the attention of Angus Gaye of Aswad ...

and

Horace Andy Horace Andy (born Horace Hinds, 19 February 1951) is a Jamaican roots reggae songwriter and singer, known for his distinctive vocals and hit songs such as "Government Land", as well as "Angel", "Spying Glass" and "Five Man Army" with English t ...

and an appearance at the 1995 ''

Reggae Sunsplash Reggae Sunsplash is a reggae music festival first staged in 1978 in the northern part of Jamaica. In 1985 it expanded with the addition of an international touring festival. The festival ran annually until 1996, with a final event in 1998, befo ...

'' festival. His 1995 retort to the

Jungle music Jungle is a music genre, genre of dance music that developed out of the UK rave scene and sound system (Jamaican), sound system culture in the 1990s. Emerging from breakbeat hardcore, the style is characterised by rapid breakbeats, heavily syncopa ...

phenomenon, "Jungle Bungle" ("One bag a noise and a whole heap a sample, That's something my ear holes can't handle!"), was hugely popular among Britain's urban audience.Barrow, Steve & Dalton, Peter (2004) ''The Rough Guide to Reggae, 3rd edn.'',

Rough Guides Rough Guides Ltd is a British travel guide book and reference publisher, which has been owned by APA Publications since November 2017. In addition to publishing guidebooks, the company also provides a tailor-made trips service based on customer ...

, , p.421 He recorded for

Fashion Records Fashion Records is a United Kingdom, UK-based record label, publishing reggae music. Founded in summer 1980, Fashion Records is one of the more successful UK-based reggae labels, and one of only a few British reggae labels to release records ...

, releasing "Nah Wear Nuh Versace", coincidentally released on the day

Gianni Versace Giovanni Maria "Gianni" Versace (; 2 December 1946 – 15 July 1997) was an Italian fashion designer, socialite and businessman. He was the founder of Versace, an international luxury-fashion house that produces accessories, fragrances, make- ...

was killed, followed by a string of cultural singles with "I Love King Selassie", "I & I Saw Them Coming", and "Weeping & Wailing", collected together along with the dub sides and new material on his debut album, ''Powers Youth'', in 1997.Barrow, Steve & Dalton, Peter (1999) ''Reggae: 100 Essential CDs - The Rough Guide'',

, , p.17-18 The album featured

Mykal Rose Michael Rose (born 11 July 1957) is a Grammy award-winning reggae singer from Jamaica. He is known for a successful tenure with Black Uhuru from 1977 to 1984, and he has worked regularly with Dennis Brown, Big Youth, The Wailers, Gregory Is ...

, with whom Banton recorded combination tracks "Release Me" and "Another Day in Babywrong". His second album, ''Rasta Mystic'', was produced by

Mad Professor Mad Professor (born Neil Joseph Stephen Fraser, 1955, Georgetown, Guyana) is a Guyanese-born British dub music producer and engineer known for his original productions and remix work. He is considered one of the leading producers of dub music ...

, with rhythms provided by

Mafia & Fluxy Mafia & Fluxy are a British reggae rhythm section and production team, consisting of the brothers Leroy (bass) and David Heywood (drums), whose careers began with London reggae band The Instigators in 1977. They backed Jamaican artists on UK to ...

and Black Steel, and released on

Ariwa Mad Professor (born Neil Joseph Stephen Fraser, 1955, Georgetown, Guyana, Georgetown, Guyana) is a Guyanese-born British dub music producer and engineer known for his original productions and remix work. He is considered one of the leading pro ...

in 2000. Banton has remained popular, and headlined the '' Aldajah Reggae Festival'' in

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' ( Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

in 2005.Gentleman, Starkey Banton encabezan el Aldajah Reggae Festival
, ''Diariocrítico de la Communitat Valenciana'', 3 May 2005

Discography

Albums

*''Powers Youth'' (1997)

Fashion Fashion is a form of self-expression and autonomy at a particular period and place and in a specific context, of clothing, footwear, lifestyle, accessories, makeup, hairstyle, and body posture. The term implies a look defined by the fash ...

(Starkey Banton meets the Dub Organiser) *''Rasta Mystic'' (2000)

*'Joy Of The World (2005) Jet Star / Bantonic

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Banton, Starkey 1962 births Living people British reggae musicians English Rastafarians People from Hammersmith