“She was more like a beauty queen with an M16”. Dancehall reggae has a long tradition of reconfiguring best selling pop songs and giving them a new lease of life. And Shinehead’s excellent version of ‘Billie Jean’ is one of the best. Massive in my, and my mate’s bedrooms when it came out, this is a dub version, not the best seller, which is half the length and doesn’t go off on a tangent. I remember going to see Shinehead play at the ICA, supported by They Might Be Giants I think. What a weird pairing. Having said that I could be wrong, but I can’t recall watching another gig at that venue. Anyway, ‘Rough & Rugged’, the album that ‘Billie Jean’ appears on is an absolute classic and a collection of tracks which is as good as any other dancehall album that was released in the 1980s. Listening to this track again after such a long time has inspired me to barbecue some jerk baby back ribs later this afternoon, which is as good a reason as any for repeat listenings.
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