Singers and keyboardists Dave Barker and Ansel Collins often worked together in Kingston in the late 1960s for producer Lee Perry.

In 1970 the two decided to try to achieve success together. They managed to get drummer Sly Dunbar to take his place behind the drums and record the song Double Barrel. Dunbar then formed the duo Sly And Robbie with Robbie Shakespeare. The duo first made the album Language Barrier with Herbie Hancock and Bob Dylan, after which they managed to stand out in our country in 1987, especially at the disco with Boops (Here To Go).

In the spring of 1971, Dave Barker and Ansel Collins reached number one on the Jamaican charts with Double Barrell. It didn’t stop there, because not long after that they succeeded in following in the footsteps of Desmond Dekker in England and in our country by getting a reggae song at number one on the charts for the second time after Israel.

The two are trying to build on their success with his successor, Monkey Spanner. In the United Kingdom they scored another hit with it as the single was in seventh place. In our country, the single was stuck at the Tipparade in 1971. The two made an album together but later decided to separate. Ansel continued his work as a session musician and worked with artists such as Jimmy Cliff, Black Uhuru and Gregory Isaacs. Barker, who now lives in the United Kingdom, works as a singer with various groups.

As reggae revived in the following years, Dave and Ansell were back together. A second album was released in 1976 and a new attempt at success followed in 1981. We met Ansell in the 1986 film Club Paradise where he was seen as Jimmy Cliff’s backing vocalist.

After Dave and Ansel, 11 other acts from Jamaica managed to rank first in our country. Both Shaggy and Sean Paul even did it twice. Shaggy is the Jamaican with the most weeks at number 1 where Sean Paul managed to become the most successful Jamaican artist.

Shaggy and Sean Paul were preceded by Jimmy Cliff and Bob Marley & The Wailers who became the first Jamaican artists to score ten Top 40 hits. Even though both are clear icons of the reggae genre, they never managed to score a number 1 hit in our country. Bob Marley came to number 2 three times with Stir It Up, Could You Be Loved and One Love – People Get Ready, with Jimmy Cliff also stranded in that position with Wild World.