Saxon Studio International is a reggae sound system from London, the first UK sound system to win an international competition. Saxon Studio International began operating in

Lewisham Lewisham () is an area of southeast London, England, south of Charing Cross. It is the principal area of the London Borough of Lewisham, and was within the historic county of Kent until 1889. It is identified in the London Plan as one ...

, South London, in 1976. The sound came to prominence in the early '80s because of the "fast chat" style which was pioneered by its

deejay A disc jockey, more commonly abbreviated as DJ, is a person who plays recorded music for an audience. Types of DJs include radio DJs (who host programs on music radio stations), club DJs (who work at a nightclub or music festival), mobile D ...

Peter King. Other Saxon MCs included

Tippa Irie Tippa Irie (born Anthony Henry, 1965, London, England) is a British reggae singer and DJ from Brixton, South London. He first came to prominence in the early 1980s as an MC on the South London reggae soundsystem Saxon Studio International. He fir ...

Smiley Culture David Victor Emmanuel (10 February 1963 – 15 March 2011), better known as Smiley Culture, was a British reggae singer and DJ known for his "fast chat" style. During a relatively brief period of fame and success, he produced two of the most cr ...

, Asher Senator,

Papa Levi Papa is a word used in many languages as an affectionate term for father. Papa or PAPA may refer to: Geography and geology * Pápa, a town in Hungary * Papa village (Samoa), on the island of Savai'i *Papa, Scotland, various islands *Papa rock ...

, Daddy Colonel, Daddy Rusty and Daddy Sandy, each of whom developed this style and went on to release records, some (such as Smiley and Tippa) achieving Top 40 hits in the UK national chart. In 1992, Saxon won the

UK Cup Clash The UK Cup Clash was an annual sound clash held in London since 2001. The series, which was sponsored by BBC Radio 1Xtra, was interrupted in 2008, though plans were underway to stage it again in 2013. Winners *2002: Mighty Crown *2003: Tony Matt ...

(a tournament for reggae soundsystems). In 1994, Saxon became the first UK soundsystem to win the

World Clash World Clash is an annual reggae sound system clash. The World Sound Clash was started by World Promotion in 1993, the first clash was at the Roller express in London. Bodyguard sound system was the first world sound champion. The World Clash st ...

. Saxon continue to play internationally, including an annual outing at London's

Notting Hill Carnival The Notting Hill Carnival is an annual Caribbean festival event that has taken place in London since 1966

. Their style has influenced artists such as

Massive Attack Massive Attack are an English trip hop collective formed in 1988 in Bristol by Robert "3D" Del Naja, Adrian "Tricky" Thaws, Andrew "Mushroom" Vowles and Grant "Daddy G" Marshall. The debut Massive Attack album '' Blue Lines'' was releas ...

(who invited them to play at the 2008

Meltdown festival Meltdown is an annual festival held in London, featuring a mix of music, art, performance and film. Meltdown is held in June at Southbank Centre, the arts complex covering and including the Royal Festival Hall, the Queen Elizabeth Hall and ...

, which they curated) and The Bug (who has collaborated with Tippa Irie and Saxon selector Trevor Sax).

Recordings and releases

Many recordings of Saxon sessions circulate unofficially on cassette tape, CDR or mp3. However, an official recording of a mid-eighties session in

Paddington Paddington is an area within the City of Westminster, in Central London. First a medieval parish then a metropolitan borough, it was integrated with Westminster and Greater London in 1965. Three important landmarks of the district are Padd ...

, West London, entitled ''Saxon Studio International: Coughing Up Fire!!!'' was released by the

Greensleeves Records Greensleeves Records & Publishing, shortened to ''Greensleeves Records'', is a record label specializing in dancehall and reggae music. The company was founded by Chris Cracknell and Chris Sedgwick. Based in Britain, Greensleeves Records sta ...

subsidiary label UK Bubblers in 1984.

References

External links

Saxon biography at MCS Records site
Sound systems British reggae musical groups Musical groups from the London Borough of Lewisham {{reggae-musician-stub