Tiger, Admiral Bailey & Chakademus (Reggae Carnival ’85)

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Norman Washington Jackson (born 6 June 1960), better known as Tiger, is a Jamaican dancehall musician active since the late 1970s. He is known for his growling style of deejaying, often imitated by other dancehall deejays since his initial rise to fame.
Jackson was born in Kingston, Jamaica. He first recorded as a singer under the name Ranking Tiger, his first single being “Why Can’t You Leave Dreadlocks Alone?” in 1978. In the early 1980s he began working as a DJ with the Black Star Sound System, often performing alongside fellow deejay Bruk Back and singer Anthony Malvo.
In 1985 and 1986, he had several local hits including “No Wanga Gut” and “No Puppy Love”. He was signed by Mango Records who released his first album, Me Name Tiger, in 1986. In the second half of the 1980s he became a major star of Jamaican music, known for his style that has been described as “multi-voiced and totally deranged”, and recorded for producers including Harry J, King Jammy, Gussie Clarke, Sly & Robbie, Philip “Fatis” Burrell and Donovan Germain. He also began producing his own recordings and started his own Tiger label. His single “Cool Me Down” was included on the soundtrack of the film Cool Runnings. In 1989, he became one of the first ragga artists to cross over into the US hip hop scene when he duetted with the Fat Boys on “T’ings Nah Go So”. Success continued in the 1990s and he was signed by Columbia Records’ short-lived Chaos imprint. His only album for the label was Claws of the Cat in 1993.
In January 1994, Jackson was seriously injured in a motorcycle accident. He suffered serious head injuries and his recovery was slow, and the injury affected his voice to the point where he was no longer able to record or perform to his previous capacity. However, in 2003, he returned to live performance as part of the Dons of Dancehall UK tour.
In the early 1990s, he scored big with the hit song, ‘When’.
He revealed during an interview with Loop News that freestyle was the inspiration for ‘When’ which is arguably his most enduring hit.
He said he felt abandoned by his dancehall friends, including Capleton, who he claimed he used to bring to the studio back in the 1990s. “After mi meet in the accident and wake up and see that all who was there when I was healthy was not there now that mi almost dead, it was …hard…I didn’t want to stay here, something wrong,” he said.

Admiral Bailey (born Glendon Bailey, Kingston, Jamaica) is a Jamaican dancehall deejay who enjoyed his greatest success between the mid-1980s and the early 1990s. He now lives in Jamaica. He has been described as “the hottest dancehall star of the late 1980s”.
Bailey had worked on U-Roy’s King Sturgav Hi-Fi sound system and was taken to King Jammy’s studio in Waterhouse by Josey Wales. He started a string of hits with a duet with Chaka Demus, “One Scotch, One Bourbon, One Beer”, which was followed by “Politician” (based on Larry Marshall’s 1969 hit “Throw Me Corn”), “Chatty Chatty Mouth”, “Ballot Box” (with Josey Wales) and, in 1987, the slack “Punaany” (with a lyric that included “Gimme Punaany, Want Punaany, Any Punaany is the same Punaany”), which was initially banned from radio play until it was re-recorded with a less offensive lyric, retitled “Healthy Body”. His debut album, Kill Them With It, was released in 1987 and he went on to record for producers such as Papa Biggy and Donovan Germain. He recorded further for Penthouse Records (“Help”) in 1990 and Bobby Digital (“Ah Nuh Sin”) in 1991. In 1993, he began working with Jammy again. In the 1990s he became known as a “clean” deejay, eschewing the slackness of many of his contemporaries. He recorded with Byron Lee on some of the latter’s big soca hits and even starred in television commercials for banks.

John Taylor (born 16 April 1963), better known as Chaka Demus, is a Jamaican reggae musician and DJ, best known as part of the duo Chaka Demus & Pliers.
Born in West Kingston, Taylor was a regular attendee at Kingston dances and was given a chance by Prince Jammy to DJ on his sound system. Upon releasing his debut single, the Jammy-produced “Increase Your Knowledge” in 1985, he was virtually unknown. None of his early records saw chart success, though they later met with increased success. Other musicians quickly recognized him as having great potential, most notably Yellowman who joined him for such songs as “Everybody Loves Chaka”, “Scotty”, and “Bring It To Me” and Admiral Bailey, who collaborated with him on “One Scotch, One Bourbon, One Beer”, giving him his first hit. The same year saw the release of “Everybody Loves Chaka”, for the Scorpio label, which was then followed up by the 1989 album, The Original Chaka ‘Watch me Ride’.