Doctor Alimantado, the Rastafarian musical legend, was one of the greatest sound system deejays active in Jamaica during the mid 1960s and early 1970s. He has also enjoyed periods of significant popularity as a Roots Reggae vocalist and has also been active as a record producer and sound system operator, while his wanderlust spirit has seen long periods of residence in diverse lands on three continents.
Alimantado began recording in the mid-1960s but created his place in history when he cut the monumental ‘Best Dressed Chicken In Town’ at Lee Perry’s Black Ark Studio; this innovative piece of triple-tracked multi toasting, coupled with ‘She Wreng Ep, on the B-side, eventually established his reputation world-wide. He also started creating a stir as a singer, his renditions of Billy Stewart’s ‘ Sitting In The Park’ and the Chilites perennial ‘Marriage Licence’ being particularly popular in Jamaica; as he puts it, these songs ‘ripped the music scene like a storm.’
However Tado scored an international smash with the defiant ‘Born For A Purpose.’ The song and Tado’s other works grew in stature and were introduced to a whole new audience overseas when Sex Pistols front-man Johnny Rotten revealed ‘Born For A Purpose’ as a personal favourite during a BBC radio broadcast.
Doctor Alimantado, currently moving between the Gambia and London, is once more active on the recording and performing scene. 2004 saw his first proper UK shows at the Triptycht Festival in Scotland, with performances in Edinburgh, Glasgow and Aberdeen, followed by his first proper English performance in 2005, held at the London venue Koko’s and at Brighton’s Concord 2. His long awaited London performance took place at the Forum in Oct 2006 and crowned him as the ultimate performer to the eager London crowd.
Doctor Alimantado’s new release, ‘House Of Singles,’ issued on the Keyman label (Cat. No. KM4000) and distributed through Greensleeves, has been 22 years in the making. The album comprises his first-ever recordings and contains many gems which relate much reggae history; this 16 song set tells many conscious stories, questioning established views on religion, life and love (among other things), putting forward an alternative view based on the Bible’s Rastafari teachings that have now gone mainstream. Additionally, Best Dressed Chicken in Town was used in the Will Smith 2008 movie Hancock!
Though a significant force in the global music business for nearly 40 years, Tado shows no sigh of slowing, while his few live performances are greatly anticipated; he remains an exceptionally talented Rastafarian musical artist and record producer of the highest order.
www.doctoralimantado.co.uk
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