Lee Perry startled one and all by playing two hallucinating sold out gigs in San Francisco. That was his first shows in the USA for more than 15 years. A show that was absolutely bombastically great! In June he played the role of principal statesman at the alternative free Tibet concerts in New York, followed by an extensive tour of America and Europe, with more world wide performances and re-issues continuing every year for the rest of the decade that led into the 21st century, heralding the return of the Mighty Super Upsetter. The year 2000 saw David Katz presented a gargantuan life history of Perry, People Funny Boy! The Genius Of Lee "Scratch" Perry published in June that year. The biography took More than 10 years in the making, it gave a beyond belief account of Perry's life and work. In the words of the Lee Perry himself, "I am the half. The half that's never been told!" He may visit Earth from time to time, but he lives in his own universe, which is every bit as expansive and mysterious as the real thing. Which brings us to the question that any Lee Perry biography must ask: is he or isn't he crazy? As we enter into the 21st century, Lee Perry remains the proverbial mad scientist! If Perry was a mad man as they say, then how would you described a person that is really gone round the bend! | | Sitting comfortably in his own mountain top fortress overlooking Lake Zurich with a BMW in the driveway. Lee Perry has made thousands of recordings, both under his own name and, like many reggae artistes, a variety of aliases. However, his solo output needs treating with caution as reggae is a notoriously documentation free environment, with arcane notions as copyright. This occurrence not only took place in Jamaica and in reggae music. It's an idea that was developed in the United States of America by Rhythm & Blues singers which is adopted by Jamaican vocal artists! |
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