Royal Gazette says that “evergreen reggae star Johnny Osbourne knows how to rock a crowd.” The iconic Jamaican singer (often called the dancehall godfather) performed tonight at the Veterans in Action Annual Remembrance Day event in Bermuda. Sharing the limelight with Mr Osbourne was his compatriot, Singing Melody. In an interview earlier today, Osbourne declared that he is “not old school; I am every school.” Here are excerpts below:

“I am going to bring the real stuff,” the 66-year-old said. “No carbon copy or bluff, but the real stuff. When me come to sing, I want it sound just like what you heard — and that’s what you are going to hear. I’m going to bring everything: dancehall, roots … everything.”

Mr Osbourne, who recorded extensively for late Jamaican producer Sir Coxsone Dodd at the latter’s iconic Studio One label in the late Seventies and early Eighties, is best known for hit songs Truths and Rights, Buddy Bye, Ice Cream Love, Little Sound Boy and Water Pumping.

Given his enormous success in the reggae music industry spanning decades, that this is Mr Osbourne’s first visit to Bermuda comes as something of a surprise. “This is my first time coming to Bermuda, so I’m looking forward to it very much because it is a place that I always wanted to experience,” the veteran reggae artist said. “Now I have a chance to get to know what Bermuda is all about and it’s going to be a pleasure.

[Photo above from http://www.largeup.com/2013/03/20/largeup-interview-dancehall-godfather-johnny-osbourne/]

For full article, see http://www.royalgazette.com/article/20141110/ISLAND/141119982

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