Here’s a tune from the early days of reggae by Nora Dean, who earned herself a place in the niche genre of “naughty” reggae, best known for her saucy hit Barbwire (In His Underpants).

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Back when punk and reggae were rebel bedfellows, I discovered this deep cut – thanks to Johnny Rotten. I still can’t find out much about it.

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Culture’s debut album Two Sevens Clash was a landmark release back in 1977. Joe Gibbs and I-Roy teamed up on the 12-inch version.

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Here is my ultimate reggae playlist – drawn mostly from that golden period for classic roots reggae in the mid-Seventies but stretching back to the earlier eras of rocksteady and ska in the mid-Sixties, and edging into the dancehall era of the early Eighties.

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Hugh Mundell could have been a contender. He was once heralded as the rising star of roots reggae – as a singer and DJ (Jah Levi) – before he was shot dead at the age of 21 – after an argument over a fridge.

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Phyllis Dillon’s rocksteady classic is a gem from Duke Reid’s legendary Treasure Isle studio. It’s been widely described as the greatest performance by a female singer in Jamaican music.

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Linval Thompson is a seminal figure in the creation, spread and influence of dancehall reggae. He’s also a sweet singer and a prominent producer with a string of roots albums and dub versions.

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Is there a genre called jazz-dub? If there isn’t – or wasn’t – then I think it’s been invented on this tune. I can’t stop playing it.

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Black Uhuru were everywhere in the late ’70s. It seemed they would step into Bob Marley’s shoes after his death in 1981 – only for their lead singer, Michael Rose, to leave the group.

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