Winston Watson & Dillinger – Upsettress Records

A heavy 12″ extended play bass shredder from Upsetteress Records, featuring the Meditations vocalist, Winston Watson with Dillinger dropping in, backed up by Inamans band.

Winston Watson’s pleading screamed vocals suit the beat, Dillinger is his normal amazing self.

This record is top notch. It really is.

Winston Watson had already had a couple of 7″ singles released in the mid 1970’s on the Wild Flower record label,a lighter style of reggae with kind of nursery rhyme lyrics in ‘Woman Pi Yabba’, and a slighter harder, and more satisfying sound in ‘Do Mama Do’.

Nothing came close to this monster 12″ single though.

The record was originally released on the Orchid record label, run by Pauline Morrison with Lee Perry, in 1979.

Everyone knows Lee Perry so not worth going on about him.

Pauline Morrison is less well known, well some might know what she looks like, as she was featured on the sleeve photograph for ‘Africa Blood’ an album by Lee Perry released by Trojan Records in 1971.

According to David Katz in his book about Lee Perry, Pauline was born dirt poor in Trenchtown, meeting Lee Perry by hustling him to open the gate to a Skatalites performance, one of a regular Sunday afternoon performances at the Gold Coast, a rough and ready beach venue east of Kingston passed Harbour View, that Coxsone Dodd favoured his sound system and roster of artists to perform in.

This was in 1965, and rather uncomfortably (for me at least) according to the book, she was only 14 years old and already pregnant, from either of her old boyfriends, Toots of the Maytals, or perhaps Lord Tamono.

This was her second pregnacy, and she was soon to birth her second child.

In any case she moved in with Lee Perry.

Although their relationship was volatle and fiery, they both remained a couple right up to the latter years of the 1980’s, so certainly a long relationship, beginning when Pauline was barely a teenager, and Lee Perry was almost twice her age.

Presumably throughout the years, Lee Perry allowed her to help produce records, she certainly had her own record label in the latter years of the 1970’s called PM Records that released records (very well known records at that) ‘White Belly Rat” by Jah Lion, ‘Sons Of Slaves’ backed by ‘At The Feast’ by Junior Delgado and The Congos respectively. Also Leo Graham’s ‘My Little Sandra’ was released on PM Records.

She produced records in the early 1970’s including songs by the Three Tops, DD Dennis , the Unforgetables and Silvertones released on a number of record labels.

In the 1990’s Pauline Morrison along with Omar Perry, re-released dozens of 7″ singles from her vaults that she held the publishing rights for (via her Green Herb publishing company). All of these records went through my hands, as the warehouse manager at Southern Record Distribution.

I actually still have a box of one copy each of these re-released records, unplayed, here at home.

I got them free of charge, as was one of the perks of the job!

The text below on The Meditations scrapped from Allmusic.

In 1976, Ansel Cridland, Winston Watson and Danny Clarke, The Meditations, via producer Dobby Dobson, released ‘Message From The Meditations’, one of the most breath-taking debut albums ever recorded. Virtually the entire album had been, or would soon, be released as singles, from “Woman Is Like a Shadow,” on through Cridland’s seminal “Running From Jamaica” to the breezy “Changing of the Times.”

1977 found them at Madison Square Garden with Calypso Rose, then, back home, the trio readied their next album. The seminal ‘Wake Up’ arrived in 1978, and was again filled with another bundle of hit singles, including “Fly Natty Dread,” “Turn Me Loose,” and the title track. Intriguingly, the set also included a re-cut “Nyah Man Story.”

However, by now, the trio were extremely unhappy with the re-numeration they were receiving from Dobson, and severed their ties with the producer. Lee “Scratch” Perry was keen to pick up the reins. The Meditations had recorded several of Message’s tracks at his Black Ark Studio, leaving the producer highly impressed. Although the group would not acquiesce to his demand to produce their next album, they were willing to cut a few singles for him. “No Peace,” “House of Parliament,” and “Think So” duly followed, with the latter song making quite a splash in Britain, where Island released it on the flip of the Cridland-produced “Life Is Not Easy” single.

It was Perry that introduced the Meditations to Bob Marley this same year, a fortuitous meeting that resulted in the trio backing the Wailer on “Rastaman Redemption,” “Blackman Redemption,” and “Punky Reggae Party,” also The Meditations performed two songs at the legendary Peace Concert at Marley’s request. The Meditations provided harmonies for innumerable other artists during the late ’70s, notably Jimmy Cliff and Gregory Isaacs and The Congos.

Winston Watson sadly died on the morning of Thursday 29th March 2019 in New York.