Red Dragon

b. Leroy May, 18 March 1966, Kingston, Jamaica, West Indies. Originally known as Redman, May learnt to DJ on Barrington Hi-Fi in 1981 and has since advanced via various sound systems (Stone Love, Small Axe, Rambo Mango and People’s Choice) to become one of the most consistently popular Jamaican DJs. He changed his name in 1984 because of the success of the ‘Laughing Dragon’ lyric on a dub plate. Fellow DJ and graduate of People’s Choice, Charlie Chaplin, produced his debut ‘Computer’ in 1985. In 1986, Harry J. produced ‘Nah Get Nutten’ and ‘Commander’ which were popular on the dancehall scene. Poor promotion meant that 1987’s ‘Hol’ A Fresh’ was a huge hit for Winston Riley, but failed to achieve crossover success. However, local success led to releases for King Tubby (‘Canter Mi Horse’), Red Man, Vena and King Jammy’s, where ‘Duck Dance’ and ‘Della Skank’ asserted his ability to identify the latest dance moves. Techniques (Riley’s label) released an album in 1989 that paired him with his DJ brother, Flourgon. In the same year, he started his own Dragon label, on which he released his own material (‘Old’, ‘Love Unuh’ and ‘My Anthem’) as well as cuts by younger artists, such as John Mouse. Between 1990 and 1991, rather than recording, he concentrated on developing the new talent emerging from Rambo Mango and Flourgon’s Sweet Love set. Buju Banton and Terry Ganzie started their careers with Dragon. Pum Pum Shorts in 1992 was a return to the dancehall market before Dragon recorded several tracks for Shang, Steely And Clevie, Mafia And Fluxy and Parrish. In 1993, he had several hits with a variety of producers, including Bobby Digital, Danny Browne, Winston Riley, Fashion Records and Sly And Robbie’s Taxi label. In July 1994, ‘Compliments On Your Kiss’ was a huge crossover hit in combination with Brian And Tony Gold, reaching number 2 in the UK singles chart.