Pablo Gad is a British
Roots reggae
Roots reggae is a subgenre of reggae that deals with the everyday lives and aspirations of Africans and those in the African Diaspora, including the spiritual side of Rastafari, black liberation, revolution and the honoring of God, called Jah ...
singer and songwriter. He is considered one of the UK's most militant and outspoken vocalists in roots reggae music.
Biography
Pablo Gad was born in
Jamaica
Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...
and came to live in the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
in 1974.
["Don't Call Us Immigrants" Pressure Sounds - Savagejaw.co.uk]
/ref> With a voice reminiscent of singer Fred Locks
Stafford Elliot (born 1955), better known as Fred Locks, is a roots reggae singer best known for his mid-1970s single "Black Star Liners" and the album of the same name.
Biography
Born in Kingston, Jamaica, Elliott grew up in a strict Catholic ...
, Gad began recording in the late 1970s. His first singles were "International Dread" and "Kunta Kinte" on the Caribbean label in 1977. In 1978 Gad emerged with the classic "Bloodsuckers" on the Burning Sounds label.[Pablo Gad Biography All Music.com]
/ref>
Further singles included "Natty Loving", "Trafalgar Square", "Throw Your Dreams" and "Riddle I Dis". His first album ''"Trafalgar Square"'' was released in 1979 riding on the "Bloodsuckers" hit. The album was composed, produced and arranged by Pablo himself.
1980 was a prolific year for Pablo had a string of hits such as "Gun Fever", "Nursery Rhyme", "Oh Jah", "Fly Away Home" and "Hard Time".[ The ''"Hard Times"'' album that featured some of these hits was released in 1980 on the FORM label. The single "Hard Time" was inspired by a visit back "home" to Jamaica where Pablo noticed that there was a different type of suffering experienced. He had noticed that life in the UK was not as bad as it seemed as people "got their Giro every week".][ Pablo Gad toured regularly with ]Black Slate
Black Slate are a reggae band based in the United Kingdom, and formed in 1974. They toured heavily around London and backed Jamaican musicians such as Dennis Brown, Delroy Wilson, and Ken Boothe when they played in the UK. They toured the UK in ...
as the main backing band. The band's Ras Elroy played bass on "Hard Time" with Keith and Tony Douglas on harmonies and Mark Lusardi as engineer.[
The records helped him win two gold discs for best album and best male vocalist in the ]Black Echoes
''Black Echoes'' is a Jamaican music show which has been broadcasting on radio in Dublin, Ireland. The show airs a range of music, including reggae, ska, rock-steady and dub. The show is presented and produced by John Public.
The show broadca ...
magazine readers poll in 1980.[
Pablo Gad continued to recorded songs through the 1980s, 90's and 2000's and he is still recording currently. The ''"Best of Pablo Gad"'' compilation album on the Reggae On Top label in 1993 featured his early singles. He recorded with the Conscious Sounds label with ]The Bush Chemists
The Bush Chemists are a British dub reggae group.
History
Wardrop formed The Bush Chemists in 1993 as a side-project to his other band Centry.Prato, Greg " The Bush Chemists Biography, AllMusic. Retrieved 11 September 2010 He had run a record ...
.
Sampled
In 1990's some of Pablo Gad's tunes were sampled by Breakbeat hardcore
Breakbeat hardcore (also referred to as hardcore rave or oldskool hardcore) is a music genre of the very early 1990s that spawned from the UK rave scene. It combines four-on-the-floor rhythms with breakbeats usually sampled from hip hop. In ...
artists. "Hard Time" has been sampled by The Prodigy
The Prodigy are an English electronic dance music band formed in Braintree, Essex, in 1990 by producer, keyboard player and songwriter Liam Howlett. The original line-up also featured dancer and singer Keith Flint and dancer and occasional l ...
, on their "Fire" single and also Nu Matic on their "Hard Times" single.
Discography
AlbumsPablo Gad Discography discogs.com
* 1979: ''Trafalgar Square'' aka ''Blood Suckers'' (Burning Sounds/Celluloid)
* 1980: ''Hard Times'' (FORM)
* 1983: ''Bloodsuckers'' (Sound Products Holland)
* 1993: ''Epistles of Dub - Chapter One'' (Reggae On Top)
* 1993: ''Life Without Death'' (Reggae On Top)
* 2003: ''Don't Push Jah'' (Reggae On Top)
* 2012: ''Armageddon Dawn “Raw”'' At King Earthquake Studio (Reggae On Top)
* 2012: ''Armageddon Dawn “Refined”'' At Conscious Sounds Studio (Reggae On Top)
References
{{Authority control
Jamaican reggae singers