Born: Michael George Campbell
June 4,1954
Port Antonio, Jamaica
Died: 15 March 2008
Stamford, Connecticut, United States
Seminal radio DJ, artist, producer, and TV host Mikey Dread may be best-known in the U.S. for his work with old school punk heroes the Clash, but in his Jamaican and adopted British home, his legacy is seen as much more than that. Born in 1954, in Port Antonio, Jamaica, Michael Campbell came to national prominence in the ’70s with a weekly radio show on JBC (Jamaican Broadcasting Company). Taking the name Mikey Dread, the DJ’s four-hour spot, which he called Dread at the Controls, was a revelation. Jamaican radio had not revolved around local talent, but rather imported music mostly from the United States.