The original members of The Firehouse Crew have reunited for a tribute album to their mentor, Osbourne “King Tubby” Ruddock. A dub set, it is scheduled for release in March when there will be a concert in Jamaica saluting the legendary sound engineer.
According to Melbourne “Dusty” Miller, drummer of The Firehouse Crew, “It will be a mixture of both original and new tracks. Some of Tubby's original songs that he would always play on his sound system along with Firehouse Crew original tracks.”
Bassist Donald Dennis, keyboardist Paul “Wrongmove” Crosdale and guitarist Mitchum “Khan” Chin are his colleagues in the band which emerged during the 1990s as the recording and backing unit for Xterminator Records acts like Luciano and Sizzla.
The Firehouse Crew first recorded during the early 1980s at King Tubby’s studio in Waterhouse, a working-class community that produced acts like The Wailing Souls, Black Uhuru, Junior Reid and Wayne “Sleng Teng” Smith.
Miller says the band’s tribute to Tubby, who was murdered in February, 1989 at age 48, is well underway.
“We have done a lot of songs so far. At this moment it is just to choose which songs to complete the album,” he disclosed.
Dubbed “Sound System Club Presents --- Firehouse Crew And Friends Tribute to King Tubby 31 Years Since his Passing”, the virtual show will be streamed live on March 27 from the Waterhouse studio of legendary producer Lloyd “King Jammy’s” James who was once Tubby’s in-house engineer.
It is being promoted by Paul Scott, another protégé of King Tubby, who is based in London. James through his sound system, as well as singers Courtney Melody and Anthony Redrose, who recorded songs for him, will also perform.
Written By Howard Campbell
