Lee 'Scratch' Perry

Hailed as the genius who effectively created reggae, Lee 'Scratch' Perry is the wild, eccentric producer who crafted Bob Marley's early hits and became a key figure in Jamaican music history. Starting his career at Coxsone Dodd's Studio One, he worked with Prince Buster on ska hits by the likes of The Skatalites and The Upsetters (including their classic Return of Django), before his sonic experiments led to the sludgy bass lines, woozy skanks and sparse drum rhythms that became reggae's trademark. His 1968 track People Funny Boy became the first to use a sample (of a baby crying), but his mission to "make people dance as if their feet were stuck in glue" became intertwined with Rastafari beliefs, African roots and ganja as he recorded the Bob Marley And The Wailers' albums Soul Rebels (1970) and Soul Revolution (1971). He co-wrote and produced Junior Murvin's classic single Police And Thieves (later covered by The Clash) and, from his Black Ark Studio, released a number of great albums, including Double Seven (1974), Revolution Dub (1975) and Return Of Super Ape (1978). Perry burned the studio down in 1978 reputedly during a bad drug experience, but went on to work for Trojan Records before teaming up with British producers Adrian Sherwood and Mad Professor in the 1980s and 1990s. Now living and working in Switzerland, he not only remains one of the music's most influential and revolutionary producers, but also one of its most colourful characters.