Irie FM and Zip FM, Jamaica's two flagship radio stations, are in mourning following the death last Thursday of Karl Young, their founder, owner and director, after an illness.
This Jamaican businessman had first invested heavily in the early 1980s in the tourism, entertainment and music sectors. In 1989 he founded Irie FM in Ocho Rios, thereby realising Peter Tosh's dream: a Jamaican radio station broadcasting reggae 24 hours a day.
Other pillars of the venture included the engineer Barry O'Hare, the DJ Mighty Mike and Mutabaruka. In 20 years, the station rose to the top of the radio landscape.
In 2002, Karl Young took up the challenge of creating a second station, Zip FM, with more varied programming.