Suffering from cancer, William "Bunny Rugs" Clarke, the singer of Third World, passed away last night, Sunday 2 February, a few days short of his 66th birthday.
Before joining Third World (founded by former members of Inner Circle), Bunny Rugs had already released a solo album with Lee Perry in 1975, "To Love Somebody" (under the name Bunny Scott), reissued by Tabou1 in 1999. It was from these sessions with the Upsetters that the haunting Be thankful was born, a splendid cover of William De Vaughn, though it does not appear on the album.
He had also released a few tracks with Ricky Grant (of The Gaylads) as the duo Bunny & Ricky, again with Perry. With Third World, which he joined for the album "96° in the Shade" and never left, he enjoyed the worldwide success of a group whose pop and disco influences made it one of reggae's superstars at the turn of the 80s.
His illness forced him to give up the tour celebrating Third World's 40 years of career last year. He was replaced on stage by AJ Brown. The last time he could be seen in France was at the Garance Reggae Festival 2011.
Over the course of his career, Bunny Rugs released several solo albums, often more successful than those of the group: "Talking to You" in 1995, "On Soul" in 2006, and finally "Time" in 2012. The latter album was preceded by the single Curfew, produced by himself, about the government's offensive in Kingston to arrest Dudus in 2010.
For the 50th anniversary of Jamaican independence, he recorded the single Land We Love (with Dean Fraser), featured on the album "Time", the proceeds of which went to the organisations Children's Heart Fund and Chain of Hope.