Dennis Bovell

Dennis Bovell (born 22 May 1953) is a Barbados-born reggae guitarist, bass player and record producer, based in the United Kingdom. He was a member of a progressive rock group called Stonehenge, who later changed name and became the British reggae band Matumbi, and released dub-reggae records under his own name as well as the pseudonym Blackbeard. He is most widely known for his decades-spanning collaborations with Linton Kwesi Johnson. Bovell moved to South London in 1965 and became immersed in Jamaican culture, particularly dub music, setting up his own Jah Sufferer sound system. Running the sound system brought trouble from the police and Bovell was imprisoned for six months on remand, but was later released on appeal. He formed Matumbi in the mid-1970s.

He has produced albums by a wide variety of artists including Creation Rebel, I-Roy, the Thompson Twins, Sharon Shannon, Alpha Blondy, Bananarama, the Pop Group, Fela Kuti, the Slits, Orange Juice and Madness. He has collaborated with poet, Linton Kwesi Johnson for much of his working life.

In 1980, he wrote the score for Franco Rosso's film Babylon. Bovell has also written music for the 1983 television drama The Boy Who Won the Pools and Global Revolution (2006).

In the BBC's Reggae Britannia, Bovell related a tale of strange goings on in the leafy London suburb of Barnes, where the John Hassell Recordings studio was based in a residential house, in a quiet street at 21 Nassau Road. John Hassell, aided by his wife Felicity, cut reggae dubplates with such finesse and understanding that the studio's output was to feed sound systems throughout the UK.

In 2012, Bovell produced the album Mek It Run.

Bovell was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2021 Birthday Honours for services to music.

Discography Strictly Dub Wize (1978), Tempus – as Blackbeard I Wah Dub (1980), More Cut/EMI – as Blackbeard Dub Conference (Winston Edwards & Blackbeard at 10 Downing Street) (1980), Studio 16 – with Winston Edwards Brain Damage (1981), Fontana Audio Active (1986), Moving Target – as Dennis Bovell and the Dub Band Dub Dem Silly (1993), Arawak Tactics (1994), LKJ Dub of Ages (2003), LKJ All Over the World (2006) Dub Dem Silly Volume 2 (2006), Arawak – Dennis Bovell featuring Janet Kay Corean Jamaican Connection, Powerslave – Yoonkee meets Dennis Bovell Dub Outside (2011), Double Six – Steve Mason & Dennis Bovell Mek It Run (2012), Pressure Sounds Dub 4 Daze (2015), Glitterbeat Records

Compilations

Dub Master (1993), Jamaican Gold Decibel: More Cuts and Dubs 1976–1983 (2003), Pressure Sounds The Dubmaster (2022), Trojan Records Sufferer Sounds (2024), Disciples

Appearances