I wasn't having the best of mornings today and my mood wasn't lifted when I read about the death of Smiley Culture in the paper. It seems he died at his own hand during a police raid at his home in South London. He didn't have the longest of careers but was one of the important breakthrough black British artists in the 80s. Born in Stockwell, he started off as a DJ with legendary Saxon sound system where he worked alongside the likes of Tippa Irie and Maxi Priest.
I was still at school at the time and previously my knowledge of reggae was limited to the inevitable Bob Marley, the Radio 1 friendly - Musical Youth, Althea and Donna and from old Trojan albums my stepdad had in his collection. I wasn't exactly savvy with the way that British reggae was developing its own sound. 'Cockney Translation' and his chatting style was a revelation to me. It was a hit in the UK and was a record that informed both Jamaicans and white British about what the Black British reggae stars were about. It was a blueprint for Mike Skinner's Original Pirate Material track 'Let's Push Things Forward' in so many ways not least of which showing the self-deprecation of British performers in reggae and hip-hop. Roots Manuva has cited Smiley Culture as an enormous influence on his style and when someone told me that I could see straight away the same humour, the same charm, the same down-to-earthness in the lyrics.
If that was a big hit then 'Police Officer' was the massive breatkthrough track that led to mainstream recognition. A top 20 hit in the UK, it was an all too common tale of black Brtions getting hassled daily by the police. It was written in a positive spirit but clearly it must have been an issue for any young black man in London at the time. This was the same time as the Broadwater Farm riots and only a few years after the Brixton and Toxteth riots. The song is littered with terms that were almost exclusively black slang at the time such as 'ganja' and you couldn't really imagine the BBC bosses letting that one slip through the 1980s censors if they'd known the truth. It's always irked me that Derek B ripped this song off completely yet never gave Smiley Culture any credit for it.
His career peaked with this song and although he carried on releasing music including 'Noff Personality' which is a seriously under-rated piece of pop, together with two albums he never returned to the dizzy heights of 1984. He had a cameo in Absolute Beginners but I understand that he preferred to venture into business soon after investing heavily in gold mines in Africa and Central Asia. I did occasionally see flyers with his name on as DJ around London in the 90s so he must still have been active and considering the contacts and his love of music, I'd have been very surprised if he hadn't carried on with the DJing as a hobby.
He popped up again only a few weeks ago on Reggae Britannia re-telling the story of early British reggae but I was unaware that at the time he was awaiting a trial for drug dealing. Yesterday, the police raided his house and apparently he managed to stab himself through the heart. It all seems very odd because I remember reading about Elliott Smith's suicide and how hard it is to stab yourself through your own breastbone. Very tragic.
Here he is at his very best. Smiley Culture 1962 - 2011
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