Making his mark on the international recording scene with a series of global hits in the late ’60s and early ’70s, Desmond Dekker enjoyed success on a scale no other Jamaican act had experienced. So in 1972, when the singer left the world’s leading reggae record company, Trojan Records, to join the newly launched rival Creole, the move sent shockwaves through the UK’s music industry. In response, Trojan gathered some of the singer’s biggest hits alongside rare and previously unreleased material from the archive, which they issued on the aptly-titled double LP set, Double Dekker. Much to the chagrin of Creole, the collection swiftly became one of Trojan’s biggest selling long players of 1973, its release eclipsing the singer’s recently recorded work for his new label. Regardless, Double Dekker ensures Dekker’s entire Leslie Kong-produced rock steady and reggae output is available for the much-missed performer’s fans.
