Junior Byles - King of Babylon
The Upsetters - Nebuchadnezzer
Impact US reissue, original 1972
Produced by Lee Perry
Born as Keith Byles in Kingston in 1948, he grew up in the Jones Town area, where he worked as a fireman in his late teens. In 1967, he formed The Versatiles, together with Louis Davids and a guy named Dudley. They recorded Just Can't Win, Trust The Book, The Time Has Come, Push It In, Lu Lu Bell and Long Long Time for producer Joe Gibbs' Amalgated label in the late sixties. By the turn of the decade Junior Byles was recording The Time Has Come solo for Lee Perry as King Chubby (released in UK on the Pama Supreme label). In 1972, he scored hits for Perry with the dread anthem Beat Down Babylon, Da Da (Winner Jamaican Song Festival) and Fever, a rework of the Little Willie John/Peggy Lee standard. The same year Junior also released several politically charged tunes, related to the 1972 election campaign: Pharaoh Hiding and the song featured here, King of Babylon, who rules over a corrupt and wicked kingdom. The flipside is a dub cut on it, called Nebuchadnezzer, after the biblical name of the king of Babylon. The following year he releasesd Rasta No Pickpocket, Auntie Lulu, and Gwan Joshua Gwan, as well as his first full album Beat Down Babylon (released in the UK on Trojan). In 1975, he again scored a huge hit for Perry with Curly Locks, released in the UK on the DIP label. The same year he also had a massive tune with Fade Away, recorded at Channel One and produced by Joseph Hookim. He also recorded for producers Niney Hollness, Pete Weston and for the Ja-Man label. After spending some time in the Bellevue Hospital, he recorded some tunes for Joe Gibbs (Heart & Soul and Dreadlocks Time) at the end of the seventies, and did the Rasta No Pickpocket album for Maurice "Blacka"Wellington (of the Morwells) in 1982 (released in 1986 on Nighthawk). Rumor is he also recorded an outstanding album with Roy Cousins of the Royals, but these recordings have not surfaced yet.