Selectors: Robert Fearon, Michael Edwards;

Microphone: Richard Fearon, Raymond McCook;

Caretaker: Bouncing Stanley;

Supervisor: William Richardson;

Box Boys: Carl, Leroy, Michael, Tony, Teeth, Andy, Stud, Bigfoot Barry;

Honorary Member: Prince Jammy – producer at King Tubby's;

Owner of the sound: K. Gordon - (Fatman).

Fatman: "Bwoy, just thieving out of my house, going to dances and getting beaten from a youth. That's how I really started out."

Fatman: "Jamaica."

Fatman: "Is a whole heap of different sound. Different sounds from all them times there, like Coxsone sound, Duke Reid sound, Blackbeard sound, all different type of sound. I didn't have no special sound to go and listen, because I couldn't go in the dance. I could only listen to them outside."

Fatman:" '63."

Fatman: "I grow with my aunt and she was over here, so she decide to send for me. I didn't really want to come but, you know, she get pretty strong about itso I have to come here then."

Fatman: "Always in North London over since, yes."

Fatman: "When I come to North London, after I was staying home for a couple of weeks, I start going out now and trying to find a sound to go and listen to. The first sound I come across was Sir Fanso. So I started to listen to that sound and start getting in with them, and then I start going around with the people.

"Used to play in places like Grays Hall and the Sunset, Grays Hall in Seven Sisters Road, Tollington Park Ballroom and all the town halls and thing like that, but Fanso normally used to rule Finsbury Park and Tottenham."

Fatman: "Well yeah, we used to play in Stoke Newington area as well. Fanso used to play Stoke Newington area, but we never used to play a lot in that area like how we used to play in Finsbury Park and Tottenham."

Fatman: "Stoke Newington. In them time. Well, ever since I come is always Chicken the Thunderstorm, when it comes to house dance is always Chicken the Thunderstorm I hear about from ever since in Stoke Newington, and Shelley, Count Shelley."

Fatman: "Yes, is the same Chicken. I think him should be a fowl by now.

"Yeah Sir Fanso, as everybody. knows, if you mention Fanso, Fanso was a great sound in them times, was ever forward. That's why we really stick with Fanso, because all the rest of sound in them times them never putting over what Fanso really putting over."

"Roots music, reggae music same way. Them days was just a breakout from bluebeat really, and Fanso used to play everything; the sort of people -him play for, well it used to younger generation."

Fatman: "Artist like wha', Slim Smith, and all them artist like Alton Ellis."

Ribs: "We used to have them on soft wax. We never had dub in them days. Soft wax.

Fatman: "Same thing what them refer as dub. In that time we used to call it soft wax,"

Ribs: "Them used to have wha', Justin Hinds, Alton Ellis, all them artists there he had them on wax. Ken Boothe, all them man there."

Fatman: "Yeah, him used to play a lot of Treasure Isle music, and Studio 1."

Fatman: "He used to get them direct from Jamaica."

Ribs: "They were from the studio them, you know, and the producer them."

Fatman: "Yeah, the same thing."

Fatman: "Yeah. Well them times when I know Fanso, he wasn't really carrying a mike man often times 'till I really started, and then mike in them days was different from what it is now. The style what I have was the style like what U Roy and King Stitch…"

Fatman: "Bwoy, that's why I was referring to these people. If you can remember how these people used to sound, you know, you can really picture me then. I was really hard in a them time. Like it was a little skaville, you know what I mean?"

Ribs: "Hoo-tch-tch, hoo-tch-tch, hoo-tch-tch…"

Fatman: "Just a little skaville."

Fatman: "About six, seven years."

Fatman: "Who? Fanso went home? Yeah, he went home, went back to Jamaica. Carry his sound as well and played out in Jamaica."

Fatman: "It leave me stranded, walking up and down trying to find a sound to listen to. I listen to a lot of sound them time: I couldn't find anything to please me, suit me, 'cause coming like say them a play… everything was backward!

"The last sound I go out and listen to before I decide to build my sound was Sir Dees sound playing out in Tottenham, and I stand up the night and listen, and it coming like the music the man of Dees did play is music what Sir Fanso did stop play longtime. I just come out and go home a my yard and I decide say I'm gonna build a sound.

Fatman: "It was about '74.

Fatman: "Yeah that time the name me really promote with was Wild Bells, but we didn't use that name for long until I come with Imperial Downbeat. The reason why I didn't use Wild Bells, at the same time a guy named Eddie he started a sound as well, and he give the sound name Bells. So saying Wild Bells and Bells, it could come in like it was the same talk. So I just switch and say Imperial. Imperial Downbeat."

Fatman: "From I was away I was always Imperial Downbeat, but when the sound start getting popular the people them… the sound start getting popular and I start getting bigger. The people them named me, the people them named me Fatman. It was the people them did.

"So we just got to make the name of the. sound Fatman Hi-Fi. That's how the name Fatman come about. So is really the people, that's what I'm say. Hornsey, Finsbury Park and them set of people really start off the name Fatman, which I never really care whether the man call me fat man, or maga man, or what."

Fatman: "To listen the sound? We really used to play in house dance, house dance was the craze at those time, and town halls and places like that."

Fatman: "Yeah, always the same Finsbury Park, Tottenham, Hornsey."

Fatman: "Those were the times when we really just. . . those were the time when the people name me, that was the time when they call me Fatman, you see, and we were playing in house. When we break away now is when we start playing places like say

Bluesville in Wood Green. We started in Bluesville, then it was pure youngsters going to Bluesville, you see, so them break away from the sound. The bigger folks them break away from the sound and it's just younger ones them started coming now, and Bluesville was packed until we left. We left Bluesville, we went to Red Lion in Leytonstone. There it was pack out as well, and went on there for quite a while, until we left there and go back to Wood Green again, down in Nightingale pub."

Fatman: "Well, they just keep closing down."

Why do they keep closing down?

"From ever since that been going on, and is still going on now. I mean, you can name the clubs them on one hand which is going from say in the 60s. Other clubs where you get, a funky club or a pop club or any other different club, you'll find that they're still going on, or a jazz club and all them things; but wherever you used to have reggae music, they never continue. As soon as the kids them start coming out, closed door.

"Most of the time them blame it on noise, most of the time them blame it on the youths them, say is bus problem, they won't pay fare and all them things. I mean you get kids coming from school that don't want to pay fare, why don't they close all the schools? You get guys coming from football, them rave up everywhere and things like that, and police all over the street you know. You never used to get them things from guys coming away from my sound…

Fatman: "Well, they might be frightened of the music, you know, beca'… they must be frightened of the music, because whoever is closing down the clubs, the don't come here. That's a good way of putting it, they might be frightened of the music.

"You really have a strong heart to really face reggae music and the type of sound wha' we really play. 'Cause the sound wha' we really play, if your heart weak, you come inside you drop. Just drop."

Fatman: Yeah. We used to play for Pastor Morris club. When Pastor Morris used to run a youth club in West Green Road we used to play for him there. He used to charge 10 pence a head, but we were only playing to keep the youths them off the street, you see, we didn't really play to say make anything out of it. Is just something for the club, that 10p would go to the club and things like that.

"But even although we was playing for nothing still, that only went on for awhile and then they close it down again. Them have to move I."

Fatman: "Yeah."

Fatman: "Yeah."

Fatman: "We don't really move to the country, but people want to hear us everywhere, that's why we don't even settle in London at one spot. We can't stay one place, because if we are one place everyone keeps phoning in and say, well then Fatman I want you here so, I want you there so, I want you everywhere you know. So it's best for us to go all over the place and spread the good sound of reggae music all around, than stay in one place with it."

Fatman: "No-o. We don't see weself as a circus. We see weself as a mobile radio station for reggae music. It's the only way for the people them who really want to come and listen reggae music. It's the only place them gonna hear it is to go and listen to a sound system, because them nah hear it upon no radio station."

Fatman: "In the record shop! But if them don't come to the sound system and listen, them have to come and listen what the sound is playing and what the deejays, that's why we have deejays, the selector play the record and the deejays put it over to the people and tell them what record's been played, you see, so them take down that now and then them go to the record shop.

"You won't find nobody going into a record shop and standing up and listening, they haven't got the time. Suppose they have to go in there and stand up all day and listen to hear the record that they want? Because you know there's hundreds of different

labels. It would be really hard for a man to go into a record shop and just stand up and listen 'til him hear a record him want to buy."

Fatman: "Sound systems?"

Fatman: "From ever since I know sound system, is always reggae music them play. There again, you might be seeing a different sight of sound, because you have sound system and you have disco. Disco is where you play soul music and things like that. But from ever since, all the whole sound man them what me hear from this country go right back to Jamaica is just reggae music, or bluebeat or ska. Is not none of them no play them sort of music there."

Fatman: "You're going back from the days of blues, rhythm and blues. Well, rhythm and blues kind of come in with the same views with ska music. Them days you never used to have reggae, so them days them man there used to mix them type of music then along with Dodd's (Studio 1). That's how them used to play those music. They didn't have a wide range of music like we have now in reggae music to play, so the art was to play a bit of shufflers them."

Fatman: "Yeah, they all travel along the same line."

Fatman: "Right. Even the people that go to listen them go off in different directions, because the man them who go and listen soul music they won't come and listen to reggae music, and who listen reggae music they won't go and listen soul music.

"You hang about a club well in Manor House you hear them say, bwoy is a soul club that, you won't find reggae people going there. Likewise, the soul people won't come to the reggae thing.

"It come in even on radio station. If you hear, them have a three and half hour of reggae music, and you have that feller deejay, him play is pure soul, him won't even play a reggae music. So that's how it is in the dance hall now."

Fatman: "Well, I don't know, is probably them themselves. Because some people might say is just punks go and listen to soul music, and then the soul people them might say bwoy is just pure Rasta go and listen to reggae music, so they don't want to go there, them don't want to mix. It's not really the music itself, but probably is just the people."

Fatman (feelingly): "Yeah man."

Ribs: "Buckingham Palace."

Fatman: "We're not drawing a line from nowhere man. We want to play in all the top places. We want to see our reggae fans come to places like that. That's where we would really like to see reggae music. Everywhere. Comes a time when we would really like to say we can drive our van and go and tour all the continent and just play reggae music."

Ribs: "Outernational."

Fatman: "Comes time when we won't just be driving up to Birmingham or Manchester or Wolverhampton or wherever. We will be heading the ferry, you know. Man say, where you a go this week Fatman? We say, bwoy Paris we a go. Them way there."