Biography
Born around 1955 in Kingston, Jamaica, Barry Dunn began his recording life as a member of the vocal group the Thrillers. Group constraints soon prompted a move into solo work, where he first linked with producers Phil Pratt and Al Campbell. He also stepped behind the board to produce Barry Brown’s debut single “Things And Time,” the track that launched his own singing career. In the mid-1970s he relocated to the UK, where he quickly found favor inside the reggae industry. Early attention arrived after he supplied Errol Dunkley with the hit “Praise Jah All The Time.” Controversy followed in 1977 when he voiced “Idi Amin” in support of the recently ousted Ugandan leader. That same year he paired with Gene Rondo for “Jah Jah Worker,” issued as a coupling with “Africa Is My Home.” Promotion work occupied him as well; he arranged Tapper Zukie’s widely praised first UK tour and appeared on the bill as support. The era’s reggae-punk crossover placed Tapper Zukie onstage with Patti Smith. Dunn himself addressed the punk scene with the 1977 hit “Pistol Boy,” a single that probed Sid Vicious’s possible role in the death of Nancy Spungen. Keith Hudson and Tapper Zukie supplied the production, ensuring the record succeeded despite its subject. He stayed visible with the 1980 release “Skylab” and its well-received flip side “Militant Style.”