Starting from scratch with Scratch

Howard Campbell, Gleaner Writer

It seems fans can't get enough of legendary reggae producer/artiste Lee 'Scratch' Perry. Numerous books and box sets looking at his controversial life and career have been released in the past 10 years and there is no letting up.

Kiss Me Neck: A Lee Perry Companion, a book by British reggae historian and Scratch archivist Jeremy Collingwood, was released in late August by Britain's Cherry Red Books.

In a recent interview with the unitedreggae.com website, Collingwood said he wanted to make up for some missteps on Give Me Power, his previous Scratch discography.

"I found so many mistakes and additions that needed to be done on Give Me Power, I decided to start from scratch with Scratch," he said.

Kiss Me Neck was completed following 10 years of research. It includes matrix numbers and a guide to blank label records for Perry's massive catalogue which dates back to the late 1960s.

photos of Scratch in his heyday

The book also includes photos of Scratch in his heyday at the Black Ark, the mysterious studio where some of reggae's biggest hit songs were recorded. Perry, whose mental health was reportedly deteriorating, allegedly burnt the complex in 1979 and left shortly after for Europe where he has lived since.

Collingwood is one of the most respected figures on Lee 'Scratch' Perry. In February 2005, his acclaimed four-CD box set I Am The Upsetter was released by London-based Trojan Records. Collingwood also compiled rare sound system Perry productions for the Sound System Scratch album which was released in August by another British re-issue company, Pressure Sounds Records.

eccentric behaviour

Though he earned international recognition as a producer of classic songs by The Wailers (Duppy Conqueror, Small Axe), Junior Byles (Beat Down Babylon) and Junior Murvin (Police and Thieves), it is Perry's eccentric behaviour and work as a recording act that have won him renewed fame. His Jamaican E.T. won a Grammy Award for Best Reggae Album in 2004. His latest studio offering, Revelation, was released in the summer and features Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards.

In August, Trojan released Sipple Out Deh: The Black Ark Years, a compilation of some of Perry's productions from 1973-79.

The Hanover-born Perry, now 74 years old, lives in Switzerland.