Posted May 26, 200619 yr Reggae legend Desmond Dekker has died suddenly from a heart attack, his manager has announced. The 64-year-old Jamaican, best known for his 1969 hit Israelites, collapsed at his Surrey home. Manager Delroy Williams said the performer had seemed fine when they met a day earlier. "It is such a shock. I don't think I will ever get over this," he said, adding that Dekker led the way for reggae stars such as Bob Marley. "Desmond was the first legend, believe it or not. When he released Israelites nobody had heard of Bob Marley - he paved the way for all of them." The star was divorced with a son and daughter. Peaceful He had been due to perform at the Respect Festival in Prague on 2 June, and numerous dates across Europe during the summer.
May 26, 200619 yr Author His last concert was at Leeds University on 11 May. "He was at his peak fitness, he had this big tour coming up for this summer and he was looking forward to it - and then that was it," Mr Williams said. "He died peacefully but it still hurts. I was his manager and his best friend. I don't think anyone knew how close we were - we go back so far." He added: "I didn't even get the chance to say goodbye properly." Chart-topper Dekker was born on 16 July 1941 in Kingston, Jamaica, and began his working life as a welder before turning to singing full-time. His band Desmond Dekker and the Aces topped the UK charts with Israelites, which also made the US top 10. He moved to the UK in the '70s, later recording the hit You Can Get It If You Really Want, written by Jimmy Cliff. The musician's popularity waned in the late '70s and '80s, and Dekker was declared bankrupt in 1984. But a new version of Israelites was released in 1990 and used in television commercials, boosting the star's popularity. FROM THE BEEB
May 26, 200619 yr Damn :( have loads of his stuff Sadly the younger generation will remember him for the Vitalite ads but they should re release Israelites as a trbute Edited May 26, 200619 yr by Ozzy Osbourne
May 26, 200619 yr Author Damn :( have loads of his stuff Sadly the younger generation will remember him for the Vitalite ads but they should re release Israelites as a trbute nah more like that rubbish hindi rap version release about a year ago. :cry: hopefully there will be a tribute with mark larmarr on the radio, hes very good at all that old ska stuff
May 26, 200619 yr Such a shame - he was truly one of the ska (reggae) greats. Although Israelites was his best known UK hit reaching #1 in 1969 it wasn't his only hit. Others include: 1967 - 007 (Shanty Town) 1969 - It Miek 1979 - Pickney Girl 1970 - You Can Get It If You Really Want. When he appeared on TOTP singing Israelites people mocked him for pulling faces - he actually had toothache. This then became his trade mark when he was singing. R.I.P. Dessie Just why are are the great 60s stars all going at once. First it was Wilson Pickett, followed by Gene Pitney, Freddie Garrity and now Desmond. Their music will live on forever - unlike a lot of todays rubbish. Edited May 26, 200619 yr by Euro Music
May 26, 200619 yr Sad to see another artist die from the 60s era One of the greatest hits during the era, had to be the The Israelites. Desmond Decker inspired a lot of regaae acts today RIP Dessie
May 26, 200619 yr You can listen some of his classic SKA & REGGAE music here 1967 - 007 (Shanty Town) #14 1969 - Israelites #1 1969 - It Miek #7 1970 - Pickney Gal #42 1970 - You Can Get It If You Really Want #2
May 26, 200619 yr First it was Wilson Pickett, followed by Gene Pitney, Freddie Garrity and now Desmond. Their music will live on forever - unlike a lot of todays rubbish. strange comment comming from a fan of 'euro music'... not overly keen on dd, i remember his strange facial expression on totp, and i never understood wtf 'isrealites' was about...
May 27, 200619 yr strange comment comming from a fan of 'euro music'... I love most 60s music but have also been a Euro Music fan for the last 15 years as I prefer it to UK & US music. I used to like US music (especially 60s & 80s) until it became dominated by Urban garbage. The only music I really like from the US now is country. The birth of the boybands (Take That & Five excepted) put me off a lot of UK music as until recently it been dominated by Boybands & Urban rubbish. I think though that the UK scene is gradually improving with acts such as Coldplay, KT Tunstall and Katie Melua. I love European rock and have been a big fan of European Techno, Progressive House, Rave & Trance. since the early 90s when MTV Europe was on. That's the trouble with Satellite music stations now. There are 2 genres not catered for anymore. Most stations cater for pop. There is also Kerrang! dedicated to Heavy Metal, Kiss & MTV Base dedicated to urban, MTV Dance for weak mainly sampled UK dance music. There is nothing for fans of European music of any genre and since the demise of CMT in the UK, nothing for country fans. So Mushymanrob there's my explanation.
May 27, 200619 yr Author I love most 60s music but have also been a Euro Music fan for the last 15 years as I prefer it to UK & US music. I used to like US music (especially 60s & 80s) until it became dominated by Urban garbage. The only music I really like from the US now is country. country :puke2: :puke2: :puke2: for that genre you probably have to go back to something like the 1940s for something thats not cheesy (excepting alt.country stuff)
May 27, 200619 yr :( RIP Desmond. Shame this thread had to turn into yet another rant by Euro Music about something he's mentioned about a million times before. Anyway, just been into town to buy two best of Desmond Dekker albums, so many classics B)
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