Junior Byles
A massive thankyou to Ron from Smokeyroom for his help on this page
Junior
Byles (Kerrie Byles Junior, aka King Chubby) was born in Kingston, Jamaica 1948.
He was raised in Jones Town ghetto, and apprenticed to his father.
He first formed The Versatiles with friends Ben Davis and Dudley Earl, and they were soon recording. Their first songs were cut for Joe Gibbs, with Lynn Tait's Band under Lee Perry's direction. From these sessions came "The Time Has Come", which was entered for the 1967 festival.
Another festival entry was 1971's "Rub Up" in 1971, but Byles' debut solo single (1970) was "What The World Is Coming To" c/w "Live As One", and released in the UK with strings and vocal chorus.
In 1971 Byles also recorded "Beat Down Babylon" (co-written by friend Harold Meikle) for Lee Perry, backed by The Now Generation Band (including Val Douglas Bass, Mikey Chung Guitar, and Wire Lindo Organ).
Following the critical acclaim "Babylon" received, Byles then worked with Perry for the whole of 1972. These sessions produced 12 tracks, 10 of which formed the album "Beat Down Babylon".
In what must have been some incredible moments of musical genius, Perry recorded Junior Byles' monumental hit "A Place Called Africa" at the same session that produced Bunny Wailer's phenomenal hit "Dreamland". The musicians at these sessions included the Barrett brothers, Tony Chin (lead guitar), Glen Adams (organ), and the rhythm guitar of Reggie Lewis.
During the mid to late 1970's he was reduced to homelessness, hunger and mental turmoil, and spent much of his life living at the street level. Indeed, his mental condition was so frail at this time, that upon hearing of Haile Selassies' death on August 27 1975, he tried suicide. This resulted in a long stay at Kingstons Bellevue mental hospital.
Byles still managed to record during these troubled times, with releases on Thing, Micron, Lovepower, Well Charge, Clocktower, Hot Shot, Impact, Treasure Isle, Observer, Advance, Soul Beat, Upsetter, Justice League, Wizzdom and Orchid.
Aside from the tracks already mentioned, "The Long Way", "Chant Down Babylon", "Bury O Boy", "Fade Away" and the incredible "Curley Locks" all rank as some of the greatest music Jamaica has ever produced.
Apart from the retrospective looks at his career, Byles still occasionally releases new material, as well as composing for other artist's. He recently performed his first show in the U.S. at the Sierra Nevada Festival in Marysville.
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Singles
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| Title | Label | Producer | Year | ||||
| Whats The World Coming To (as King Chubby) | Lee Perry | 1970 | |||||
| Da Da | Lee Perry | 1971 | |||||
| Beat Down Babylon (B-side of Alpha & Omega by Dennis Alcapone) | Upsetter | Lee Perry | 1971 | ||||
| King Of Babylon | Randy's | Lee Perry | 1972 | ||||
| Black Crisis (Love Power) | Self | ||||||
| Curley Locks/Now Generation | Dip | Lee Perry | 1974 | ||||
| Dreader Locks (& Lee Perry) | Dip | Lee Perry | 1974 | ||||
| Curley Locks | Magnet | Lee Perry | 1974 | ||||
| Gwane Joshua Gwane | Jaguar | Pete Weston | 1974 | ||||
| Bury O Boy | Ethnic Fight | Lloyd Campbell | 1975 | ||||
| Chant Down Babylon ( & Rupert Reid) | Black Wax | Ja-Man | 1976 | ||||
| Pitchy Patchy | Black Wax | Leroy Hollet & Dudley Swaby | 1976 | ||||
| Fade Away | Eagle | Joe Joe | 1976 | ||||
| Oh Carolina | Grounation | Pete Weston | 1976 | ||||
| Run Run | Observer | Sir Niney | 1976 | ||||
| Heart And Soul | Errol T | Joe Gibbs & Errol T | 1976 | ||||
| Can You Feel It? | Thing | Lloyd F Campbell | 1976 | ||||
| Hail To The Power | Lee Perry | ||||||
| Fever | Lee Perry | ||||||
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Albums
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| Title | Label | Producer | Year | ||||
| Beat Down Babylon | Dynamic, Trojan | Lee Perry | 1972 | ||||
| Beat Down Babylon: The Upsetter Years | Trojan | Lee Perry | 1987 | ||||
| Curly Locks: Best of Junior Byles and The Upsetters 1970-76 | Heartbeat | Lee Perry | 1997 | ||||
| Jordan | Micron, Heartbeat | Pete Weston | 1976, 1988 | ||||
| Rasta No Pickpocket | Nighthawk | 1986 | |||||
| When Will Better Come 1972-76 | Trojan | Lee Perry | 1988 | ||||
| 129 Beat Street Ja-Man Special 1975-1978 | Blood & Fire | Dudley ‘Manzie’ Swaby & Leroy ‘Bunny’ Hollett | 1999 | ||||
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Albums featuring Junior Byles
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| Title | Label |
Tracks |
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| Battle Axe | Trojan/Upsetter | Place Called Africa | |||||
| Black Art Singles Selector | Ascension | Fever/The Long Way | |||||
| Chapter Three - Live As One | Trojan | Lock And Key/Live As One/Mumbling And Grumbling/The Long Way/Now Generation | |||||
| Give Me Power | Trojan | Rasta No Pick Pocket | |||||
| Out Of Many - The Upsetter | Trojan | The Long Way | |||||
| Some Of The Best | Heartbeat | The Thanks We Get | |||||
| The Complete UK Upsetter Singles Selection Vol.3 | Trojan | A Place Called Africa | |||||
| The Complete UK Upsetter Singles Selection Vol.4 | Trojan | Beat Down Babylon/Festival Da Da | |||||
| Ultimate Collection | Hip-O-Records | Curly Locks | |||||
| Version Like Rain | Trojan | Fever/Beat Down Babylon/Informer Man | |||||
| Words Of My Mouth | Trojan | Curly Locks/Dreader Locks | |||||
| Creation Rockers Volume 3 | Trojan | A Place Called Africa | |||||
| Reggae To Reggae | Pama | Beat Down Babylon | |||||
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