Kiddus IText by Jeremy Collingwood |
A truly mysterious Rastaman who musical flowering in the late 1970 saw only a handful of singles emerge and a brief glimpse of the man himself in the Island film Rockers. He only ever pressed small numbers of copies of each single and hence they were difficult to find, even at the time release, which only added to the mystery of the man.
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| Date Added: Jan 26, 2011, Date Updated: Jun 23, 2014 Copyright (C) 2024 Dub Store Sound Inc. |
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| Real Name: |
Frank Dowding |
| Dec, 1944 - |
| Place of Birth: |
Jamaica |
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Born Frank Dowding in December of 1944. His chosen moniker, 'Kiddus (I)', reflected his Rastafarian beliefs and means 'blessed one' in Amharic: the ancient language of Ethiopia. He was a member of the legendary Rastafarian drum driven Ras Michael & The Sons of Negus from 1971 to 1978 - playing the funde drum. Along side this work he ran a Rastafarian Commune that produced crafts for sale.
In the late 1970's he managed to establish his own 'Shepherd' imprint on which he released a few singles. It was one of these releases that bought his name to the fore in deep roots reggae: 'Security in the Streets' and 'Too Fat' were issued on a fine Disco 45 in a lovely picture sleeve (very rare for JA issues). The single was recorded at Lee Perry's Black Ark studio and caught the vibe of the time – Kiddus was a prominent member of the Peace Movement that worked against the growing tide of violence, which was engulfing Kingston at the time. 'Crying Wolf' was the only other single to make it to vinyl from his time recording at the Ark – whilst another bunch of tracks went missing.
It was the film 'Rockers' that bought Kiddus to a far wider audience as it featured him recording 'Graduation in Zion' in the studio. His distinctive nasally falsetto and angular looks making a powerful impression on viewers. Reflecting Kiddus's place in the Rastafarian community he went on to cut one single, 'Love Child' at the Tuff Gong studios. His final vinyl releases – 'Harder' and 'Time' were recorded at the Sun Dragon studios in NY, in the early 1980's.
This brief period of activity ended when a planned album was lost and then the enigma that is Kiddus I dropped out of sight until the French label Dub Storeleased Inna De Yard in 2005. In 2007 Dub Store (of Japan) issued an album – 'Rockers: Graduation In Zion 1978-1980' that for the first time pulled together Kiddus I's 1970's recordings: suitably some 30 years late! Some tracks had been released on vinyl whilst others had remained on tape since the day they were recorded at Tuff Gong and Sun Dragon studios. |
| Jan 26, 2011 (Jun 23, 2014 Update) Text by Jeremy Collingwood
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| Recent arrival(s) |
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Legendary rasta artist Kiddus I who mystically appears in the film, Rockers in collaboration with 11 piece Japanese reggae bred fusion band Reggaelation Independence. Disco 12” backed with an epic horn instrumental on the flip. |
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| Best selling CD(s) |
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| Best selling 10/12"(s) |
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12"single from the previously released album 'Rockers: Graduation In Zion 1978-1979 (DSR-LP-001)'. Kiddus I originally recorded 'Fire Burn' in 1973 but the master tape went missing. The song was re-recorded at Tuff Gong in 1978 for his debut album 'Jah Power, Jah Glory' but it remained unreleased. Surprisingly, the track has the same bassline to Bunny Wailer's 'Amagideon' and it is said Bunny adopted it from the 'Fire Burn', which were originally recorded in 1973. The most dreadful song amongst his unreleased material and 9 minutes of jazzy performance is just a miracle. The B-side contains a version to the A-side. |
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This 12 minute version of 'Give I Strength' is different from the one previously appeared on the album ‘Rockers: Graduation In Zion 1978-1979 (DSR-LP-001)’. Kiddus I recorded the song for his debut album 'Jah Power, Jah Glory' but it remained unreleased. The most of recordings he did at this time was very long and Kiddus I recalls this was possible because he used to 'treat' those musicians in a hospitable manner. This allowed musicians to be very improvisational in their playing on songs written by Kiddus I. The B-side version has an instrumental to the A-side. |
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| Best selling 7"(s) |
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Spiritual message from Kiddus I, the Original Rockers to each and every roots lovers across the board. Backed by one of Japanes most devout band Reggaelation IndependAnce, Kiddus is back again with a breathtaking remake of “Flying Knots”. |
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