Badoo & Toyan – KG Records – 1980

A heavyweight 12″ single released on the K.G Imperial record label, run by Ken Gordon A.K.A Fatman, the literal heavyweight long time sound system operator.

Both sides of this record will rip the wallpaper off of your walls if played loud enough. It won’t, I made that up, but it is a pukka record without a doubt. Badoo at his finest. Toyan putting in an shift with his wordplay.

I went to many Fatman Hi-Fi sessions in North London (sometimes venturing out further) throughout the latter years of the 1980’s and through the 1990’s.

These Fatman Hi-Fi events were both immense and bone shaking, in equal measure.

Along with Jah Shaka who single handed crushed other venues, and adding the newer sound systems, Manasseh, Eastern Sher and Boom-Shaka-Laka, Conscience Sounds, and dozens more, the years that I participated in the sound system world were some of the more enjoyable late nights out during that period for me.

I got to know some sound system operators quite well, either from the sound system dances, or from the Southern Studios / Southern Record Distribution, recording or distribution axis.

Ken Gordon, Fatman, was one of those who I got to know well, and was comfortable enough with his company to have a meal together… A lovely man.

At one Fatman Hi-Fi sound system in Camden, the old Dingwalls club, Ken brought along a 12″ single version of The Clash’s “London’s Calling” and after giving myself and Kevin – ex of Conflict, a quick wink, placed that 12″ single’s B – Side onto the turntable (the B – Side was The Clash’s excellent and heavily dubbed version of Willie Williams “Armageddon Time”) seemingly directed towards Kevin and myself. He might have been taking the piss, but we both decided to place a slightly more positive spin onto the affair!

During the early 1990’s I was involved in a small sound system with the same Kevin. A sound system that was set up sporodically in squats and fields, similar to the Bedlam and the Spiral Tribe sound system set ups. In fact our sound system would share space with Bedlam on a few occasions and Spiral Tribe at least once, perhaps twice.

Working at Southern Record Distribution gave me access to a lot of the junglist and techno pre-releases a week or two prior to any shop’s having stock, so those pre’s would go on the deck as ‘exclusives’ in either Techno or Junglist sets depending on the type of event.
Whatever the sounds spinning during the bulk of either of those nights, I preferred to select and play reggae records during the late night, early morning ‘comedown’ shift. Delving into my record box to grab one of my own original reggae records to place onto the turntable. Either side of this Badoo record being no exception.

Some nights Kevin and myself would exclusively spin reggae records, mostly at house parties. In 1992 we managed to get a Thursday night residency at the White Hart bar in Clapton. Those nights were purely reggae sets. The White Hart bar was next door to the large infamous Pegasus, or Dougies, or whatever the name was changed to throughout the years, based in Clapton.

Fine nights indeed.

A snippet of history:

Fatman Hi-Fi, a Sound System from Tottenham, North London. Fatman, real name Kenneth Gordon, moved from the Waterhouse area of Kingston to the UK in 1962.

Initially he worked with Sir Fanso The Tropical Downbeat selecting music for the sound. When Sir Fanso packed the sound and left for Jamaica Fatman decided forming his own Sound System. This was in 1974 and initially the sound was called Wild Bells and then Imperial Downbeat before finally settling on the name Fatman.

He funded it by working two jobs.

The selector from the sound system’s start in 1974 through to the early – mid 1980’s was Ribs, leaving Fatman’s side and forming the heavy duty Unity Hi-Fi.

By 1977 the sound had residencies at Club Noreik on Seven Sisters Road, the Nightingale in Tottenham and Phebes in Stoke Newington (which ended in the summer of 1977) and in 1979, at the Queens Head Hall, Turnpike Lane.

In 1977 Fatman opened a record shop in West Green Road, Tottenham. Prior to that store he had a store in Tottenham High Road right next door to the police station. In 1979 Fatman Hi-Fi won the best Sound System vote at the Black Echoes British Reggae Awards in 1979.

In the early 1980’s MC’s Raymond Naptali and Roy Ranking were regulars on the sound and were releasing records on Fatmans K.G Imperial Record label.

In 1981, in an interview with Black Echoes, Ken Gordon described the sound:

“Weight section: thirty eighteen inch speakers.
Mid Range: four fifteen and four twelve inch units.
Top end, tweaters; two in each mid range unit.
Fully transistorised amplification; and yes it’s all three noughts!
Record deck: single auto changer.”

The sound built a strong relationship with Prince Jammy in Jamaica. This relationship saw them obtain Jammy’s dubs before UK sounds and eventually to some of Jammy’s productions being released on KG Imperial.