Official #dancehall #reggae Sound Clash: David Rodigan 🆚 Killamanjaro #video [London Neasden] 1997

Noel Harper’s Legendary Killamanjaro sound system has been a leading light in the dancehall world. The sound was started by Papa Jaro in 1969 and its name is derived from Africa’s highest mountain, Mount Kilimanjaro, and throughout their history, they have constantly scaled great heights both in Jamaica and worldwide.

As Killamanjaro’s set grew in size and popularity they started to recruit deejays with O Lord being their first resident professional mic man. As the seventies made way for the eighties so Killamanjaro marched onwards and upwards. A major plus for the sound occurred when Mr Harper recruited Ainsley Grey as the main selector. Sadly we have yet to hear a full Jaro session dated earlier than 1982 but a typical dance around 1982/83 would feature such luminaries as Jim Kelly (b. Sylvester Morgan), the apprentice of O Lord, who by this time had flourished into a great chatter and the sets number one deejay. Other deejays on the scene at this time were veteran Lone Ranger (b. Anthony Waldron), Buro Banton (b. Donovan Spalding), who had two separate stints with the sound, Danny Dread and Dirty Harry. In addition, John Wayne (b. Norval Headley) and Papa Tullo aka Tullo T (b. Everald Crawford), who was previously on Studio Mix sound, could often be heard at Jaro dances.

As well as the deejays Killamanjaro also promoted singers around the set. Long-time dancehall fixture Puddy Roots (b. Junior Smith), who had started out as a deejay Puddy Lion on the Arrows sound in the mid to late seventies, morphed into a singer who would appear on many of Killamanjaro’s crucial sessions in the early eighties. He would also be joined by U.U. Madoo is a singer with a voice almost indistinguishable from his older brother Madoo. These singers along with others like the sweet-voiced Hopeton James and the “original” Thriller were always there to provide an alternative vocal refrain.

Tragedy struck the Killamanjaro camp midway through 1983 when Jim Kelly was killed, yet another victim of the violence that permanently haunts Jamaican society. In time though the void was filled by, not one, two top-notch deejays Super Cat (b. William Marragh) and Early B (b. Earlando Neil). These sparring partners had been plying their trade away from Kingston on St Thomas’ King Majesty sound but they now took up residency on Killamanjaro, now one of the island's top sounds. From 1983 to 1985 Killamanjaro were near untouchable, especially when the “Doctor” and Super Cat were firing on all cylinders. New additions to the Killamanjaro family included Little Twitch, (b. Richard Wright) who’d started out at King Sturgav, and later Super Cat’s younger brother Junior Cat (b. Wayne Marragh).


For over 35 years David Rodigan has been the top dog in the ganja-scented, bass-heavy atmosphere of Britain’s reggae dance halls. The key to his success has been an unsinkable passion for reggae music, which first took a hold of him as a schoolboy when he heard ska music in the early ’60s.

He developed an obsession with the music of Jamaica that generated an encyclopaedic knowledge of the island’s every artist, every song and every rhythm track.

His earliest experience of dee saying was during lunch breaks once a week in the gym at Gosford Hill School in Kidlington, Oxford. On leaving school he landed a place at the Rose Bruford College of Speech and Drama in 1971, where he spent three years studying to become an actor. He worked extensively in repertory theatre and appeared in a number of television productions such as ‘Doctor Who’ (BBC) and ‘Shackleton’ (BBC); he also performed his one-man show Zima Junction’ at literature festivals and theatres in the 1970s; a dramatisation of the poem by the Russian writer Yevtushenko.

Rodigan began his reggae broadcasting career in 1978 on BBC Radio London. He moved to Capital Radio in 1979 and remained there for eleven years broadcasting his legendary ‘Roots Rockers’ show every Saturday night. His credibility was ensured when he began clashing with Jamaica’s champion DJ, Barry G on JBC Radio in Jamaica. He then went on to clash with all the top Jamaican sound systems in the West Indies, the USA and England and in 2012 he won the ultimate clash victory when he took the Champion Trophy at World Clash Reset in New York.

In 1984 he joined BFBS (British Forces Broadcasting Corp) where broadcast his weekly reggae show for 25 years until 2009.

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