The Hippy Boys / The Upsetters

One of the most talented, and indeed collectable, bands from the late 1960’s are undoubtedly the Hippy Boys.

Recording either under their own name or as an anonymous backing combo, the group laid down some of the most satisfying and danceable reggae rhythms that Kingston could offer. With a name-shift they became Lee Perry‘s Upsetters, and pushed reggae (and Trojan Records) way up into the UK National ratings, courtesy of the rocking ‘Return of Django’. They became a skinheads’ delight and a collector’s dream, with never a duff track appearing in the racks under their name.

Customary to Jamaica, their history is somewhat hazy, and a suggested arrival on the scene in 1967 seeming likely. But this wasn’t the Hippy Boys as known to the ’69 reggae lovers, but an earlier incarnation of the backing group.

Max Romeo recalls in an interview with scribe Dave Katz, that the formation came about with the break up of the Gaylads in ’67, when producer Sonia Pottinger wanted the then lead singer Delano Stewart to go solo, thus dividing the band.

Max, who used to lurk in the studio corner at the time, soaking up the session vibes, absconded with the bass and drum players who he only recalled as ‘Maurice and Sean’, plus a guy called Web Stewart on guitar, to form his own backing band.

Max and his Hippy Boys soon became a draw on the live scene and came to the attention of a young pair of brothers, Aston and Carlton Barrett, who were looking for a way into the music business. Their break came when the original rhythm section didn’t show at a live gig, so after some debate, they took the stage with Aston on bass and Carlton on drums. The brothers were a hit and with their proficiency proved, hired as the group’s new rhythm twins.

Soon after, Web Stewart left the band to be replaced by Ronnie ‘Ranny Bop’ Williams, with Glen Adams stepping up to the organ a little after that. Thus one of the top Jamaican powerhouses was taking shape. Alva ‘Reggie’ Lewis also joined the group after meeting up with them on a session during which where he played rhythm guitar.

Among the early Hippy Boys recordings was Derrick Morgan‘s ‘Hold You Jack’, the rhythm of which reappeared for Max‘s BBC banned major triumph ‘Wet Dream’.

The group also provided producer Harry Johnson with his biggest hit, ‘Liquidator’, which originally they laid as a backing rhythm for a vocal by Tony Scott called ‘What Am I To Do’. Scott sold the track onto Harry J and Winston Wright and his mighty Hammond did the rest. The majority of their work was jointly recorded for Bunny Lee and Lee Perry, with the previously mentioned ‘Django’ giving Scratch the proof of their capabilities should he be in any doubt.

The UK was hot for reggae by this time, and Pama Records issued a few sides from the Hippy’s such as ‘Far Far Away’, ‘Death Rides A Horse’ and ‘Clap Clap’, on their Unity subsidiary.

Meanwhile, Trojan inaugurated their Upsetter label specifically for Perry‘s far-sighted productions utilising the core members of the Hippy Boys plus guests like tenor saxman Val Bennett and Milton Henry, who was also briefly guitarist with the group. To Perry, anyone who was involved in one of his sessions was an Upsetter, and more so than any other producer, he single-mindedly knew what he wanted from his musicians.

Aside from performing as the Hippy Boys and the Upsetters, two members, Glen Adams and Reggie Lewis, chanted vocal ditties like ‘Ba Ba’, aka ‘What Is This’, over crunching rhythms (no doubt pre-recorded by themselves) as the Reggae Boys.

The nucleus was by now the two Barrett brothers, Glen Adams and Reggie Lewis bolstered by other session musicians depending on the sound required. They had scored a sizeable hit for Sonia Pottinger in the shape of ‘Dr No Go’, and continued to lay instrumental sides for the producer through out 1969. Apart from aforementioned track, these were collected together as the album, ‘Reggae With The Hippy Boys’, which Trojan issued on the label specifically for Pottinger‘s work: High Note.

At the same time as working with Bunny Lee, Perry and Sonia Pottinger, the band managed to record some striking sides for Lloyd Charmers, a talented keyboard who was able to coax some exemplary performances from the guys, with the majority of the Charmers/Hippy’s work reelased on the Pama album, ‘House In Session’.

November 1969 found the quartet alongside Perry on a flight to Heathrow as ‘Return of Django’ took the British public by storm. The tight band was to pre-record an appearance on ‘Top of the Pops’, and had a string of live dates lined up for them by Bruce White and Tony Cousins’ Commercial Entertainments booking agency. As the tour came to a conclusion some six weeks later, Perry had grown beyond his small band and was actively working for both Trojan and Pama Records with the result that the four musicians were left somewhat stranded in London.

Bruce and Tony, in their guise as producer ‘Bruce Anthony’, offered the guys a deal to cut an album at Chalk Farm studios under the guidance of its owner Vic Keary. The offer was gratefully accepted and the result arrived early in 1970 as ‘The Good, The Bad and The Upsetters’. After an aborted deal with President Records, it was passed to Trojan to issue it resplendent with the four musicians dressed in cowboy outfits on the sleeve, much apparently to the displeasure of Perry who claimed to have no knowledge of the recordings. The irked producer subsequently used the Trojan-designed LP sleeve for a completely new selection of tracks, with this Jamaica version now a highly sought-after item.

With a return to Kingston, the four musicians were once again working under the direction of the enigmatic Upsetter, only this time an equal talent was creating in the studio alongside Scratch ‘ Robert Marley. The sessions that were to create the ‘Soul Rebel’ and ‘Soul Revolution’ albums not only took a new moody world-wise Marley and the Wailers on to greater heights, but also supplied them with the backbone of their sound.

Jumping the Upsetter ship, the two Barrett brothers threw their lot in with Bob, Bunny and Peter to form a self-contained unit, augmented by various guitar and keyboardists as the years passed by. Meanwhile, Reggie and Glen continued to work as session musicians, with the latter returning to singing (he was in the original line up of the Pioneers) as well as his keyboard work.

Perry of course continued with his Upsetters for another decade, while the Barretts became an integral part of the Wailers sound. Glen Adams carried on his relationship with Perry as arranger and keyboard player whilst working between Jamaica and New York from where he operated his Capo label. Tragically, the harsh Kingston life became too much for Reggie Lewis who sunk destitute into the ghetto until being given work at Tuff Gong as a gatekeeper.

So ended the story of the Hippy Boys ‘ a nucleus of only four talented men who graced dozens of hit records, and sent many a collector wildly dashing for the nearest Muzik City on a damp Saturday afternoon.

Michael de Koningh

With thanks to Dave Katz and Bruce White.

Michael de Koningh is the co-author of ‘Young, Gifted & Black ‘ the History Of Trojan records’ and ‘Tighten Up ‘ The History of Reggae in the UK’, both published by Sanctuary Publications.