Army of Dub- Alton Ellis vs. Kromestar (Luisao bootleg)


via the BBC:

"12 October 2008 - Reggae singer Alton Ellis died of cancer in a London hospital at the age of 70 on Friday 9 October 2008.

Tributes have been pouring into the Jamaican singer's MySpace site, many commenting on how Ellis' music will 'live forever'.

Alton Ellis moved to Britain in the 1970s and became known as the 'Godfather of rocksteady' with a string of hits including I'm Still In Love, Dance Crasher and I'm Just A Guy.

His manager and agent Trish De Rosa, of Roots-Rockers Promotions, said he was a prolific artist and a key figure in the history of Jamaican music: "He has been my guiding star and my inspiration from the moment I met him," she said.

"His life was the music and the stage. He was getting a tremendous amount of work right up to the end - it was very difficult to get him to slow down. He wanted to do as much as he could and leave a strong legacy."

De Rosa added that the Jamaican authorities were considering giving Ellis a state funeral.

Ellis was diagnosed with multiple myeloma last year, underwent chemotherapy and returned to the stage before he collapsed during his final performance in central London in August.

Laurence Cane-Honeysett, Jamaican music consultant for Trojan Records, said the label had been associated with Ellis throughout his career and that he was a pleasure to deal with: "He was a genuinely lovely man and his songs were heartfelt," he said.

"He was a seminal figure in terms of popularising Jamaican reggae music. His death is a terrible loss."

The sweetest in the reggae world - Delroy Williams


Jamaican reggae singer Delroy Williams, who had been friends with Ellis and worked with him since the 1960s said, described his voice as "the sweetest in the reggae world".

Ellis began his career in the late 1950s, before Jamaican music had earned a worldwide following, and recorded for many local producers before launching his own All-tone label.

He had several hits while fronting the vocal group The Flames and many more as a solo artist. Ellis moved to Canada and then to London in the 1970s as his career went into decline.

He enjoyed renewed popularity in the last 15 years thanks to a rocksteady trend in Jamaica and Europe.

Ellis, who lived in Northolt, Middlesex, leaves more than 20 children."