INTERVIEW : MIGHTY DIAMONDS
Interview by : Benoit Georges
Pictures by : Ludovic Perrin
on Tuesday, February 21st 2006 - 10 867 views
Since the golden age of the 1970s, which saw them string together hits (Right time, have mercy, i need a roof…), the Mighty Diamonds have crossed the decades punctuating them with regular hits. The release of their disappointing new album, "Thugs in the street", coincided with a French tour that made it possible to see not only their form on stage, but also their reputation, perfectly intact. The only Jamaican vocal trio still performing in its original line-up, Donald “Tabby” Shaw, Fitzroy "Bunny" Simpson and Lloyd “Judge” Ferguson still have the appetite of their early days.
Reggaefrance / In the film "Rockers", we see you working in a forge.
Mighty Diamonds / Judge: Actually, it was an ironworks. It was Bunny's workshop, he's a welder by trade. Tabby too. As for me, at that time I was a police officer.
How long did you work like that?
Bunny: I worked in that workshop until 1975. We had to resign because you can't serve two masters at once! (laughs). You have to stay with the one you prefer.
Is that how you met?
Tabby: We lived in the same neighbourhood. We went to the same school when we were little. We weren't into music at all back then. Then we left school and started on the street corner. Then I met Judge, and we carried on like that.
When you hear your vocal harmonies, you can tell you listened to a lot of soul.
Tabby: Yes! (laughs) we listened to a lot of R n' B: Stylistics, Manhattans, Spinners, Judge: Mighty Sparrows, Temptations, Diana Ross and the Supremes… Bunny: The Wailers, the Heptones, the Gaylads… Tabby: Ken Boothe, Alton Ellis… Icons who were there before us. There are so many artists I can't remember… the late Slim Smith, Pat Kelly, Toots & the maytals… There are so many singers we listened to. Desmond Dekker & the Aces… and plenty more.
We don't know many of your songs from before Channel One.
Tabby: The first song was Girl you’re too young, on Rupie Edwards' Success label. We put out a song on Soul Cole, Stranger Cole's label, called Oh no baby.
Judge: We did Shame and pride for Pat Francis.
Bunny: And we did our first number at Channel One. It was Right Time, I need a roof, Have mercy, Africa… And the list goes on like that. That LP was a champion!
How did you end up at Channel One?
Bunny: Channel One was a good school. Everything changed when we were signed to Virgin. And Virgin didn't want us doing other things on the side. They wanted to keep us for themselves, and that rather messed things up. When Virgin started recording us, taking us to New Orleans to experiment with a new type of music… Things went wrong.
Tabby: That new sound, they weren't ready for it. And besides, we already had our songs.
Judge: They tried to make us change our music, which has never been good for the Diamonds. But we're so resilient… that's why we're still here, thirty years later! And we're going to show the world that we ah de man (laughs).
You worked a lot with Gussie Clarke.
Bunny: We made four albums with Gussie Clarke. It's another stage. It was good but… everything has to be good, not just the singers. The business side has to be good too.
And you weren't satisfied financially with Gussie Clarke?
Judge: Let's say the production was good but the earnings were bad. (Laughs)
It was nonetheless a milestone in your career, notably with Pass The Kutchie. That song was also covered by the group Musical Youth, but with completely changed lyrics… How did you react?
Judge: They changed the lyrics, what they did was change « kutchie » to « dutchie » (laughs). A « kutchie » is a pipe for smoking herb, whereas a « dutchie » is a pot for cooking food. They wanted to reach the international market.
Gussie Clarke opened his own studio and moved into digital reggae. You switched to this new sound quickly. Few groups from the 70s did…
Judge: We're no newcomers, that's why we adapt well over the years. We're able to sing over any type of music. Whether it's calypso, reggae, or soca…
In the end you've had hits in every musical period. Like Heavy Load, for example…
Bunny : And that's why Judge says: "we don't do walk-on parts". We're like an anchor… Besides, we have a lot of music we haven't released, that we keep for ourselves. And we won't give it to anyone else, because there's also the business side. It's up to us to deal with it, nobody else, to show the world that "we are the man, the man with a plan".
You have a new album.
Judge: It's called "Thugs in the street". It's a very good album. It's like when we did « Right Time ». It's as if we'd gone back in front of the easel, and painted another canvas.
These are new songs, new lyrics even if there are a few old riddims.
Bunny: None of the record companies lets you go your own way. We had good tunes but the business always turned out to be bad for us.
Now the Mighty Diamonds want to be involved in the business side. It brought us nothing good, so we want to take back the controls and sail in the direction we want.
And what is that direction?
Bunny: Up! Straight to the top, and nothing else. We're going to show the world that we can do it. Sometimes there are misty patches, but at some point everything clears and you can carry on your way seeing clearly.
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