The Trinidadian singer and songwriter Lord Creator, who has died aged 87, was best known for his song Kingston Town, which was covered as a single in 1990 by the British band UB40, providing him with a windfall of publishing royalties at a relatively late and impoverished stage in his life.
A love letter to the capital of Jamaica – and the woman who is waiting for him there – the original was written by Creator in 1970 in Kingston itself, to where he had moved several years before. UB40’s version shot to No 4 in the UK singles charts and made it to No 1 in France and the Netherlands, reviving interest in the previous work of Creator, who had set out as a calypsonian in his native land but had turned to ska and reggae after he arrived in Jamaica.
He was born Kenrick Patrick in San Fernando in southern Trinidad, to MacDonald Patrick, who worked in the local oilfields, and Enid (nee McDougall), a housewife. After attending Wesleyan Methodist school in San Fernando he worked in construction while making his early moves into the music business. A gifted singer who modelled himself on American crooners such as Nat King Cole, he soon tasted local success under his stage name.
In 1958 his frivolous debut single, The Cockhead, was well received in Trinidad, paving the way for a follow-up of more serious quality, Evening News, the story of a young boy who struggles to survive on the streets by selling newspapers. It was a big hit locally and its success was replicated across the English-speaking Caribbean, even gaining a UK release on the Melodisc label.
Soon Creator began performing regularly in Jamaica, settling there in 1962, the year the island became independent from the UK.
When the Kingston record magnate Randy Chin decided the newly emancipated country needed a song to soundtrack its celebrations, he asked Creator to come up with something appropriate, and the result – the calypso Independent Jamaica – became a national hit.
Chris Blackwell was in the process of founding Island Records at the time, and he licensed the song as the label’s first release in the UK.
By 1966 Creator had picked up on the burgeoning ska sound in Jamaica as it became the dominant Caribbean music form. His debut album, Jamaica Time, produced by Coxsone Dodd and released on the Studio One label, was a mix of originals and popular standards – including Bob Dylan’s Blowin’ in the Wind – set to relaxed calypso and ska arrangements.
His 1969 album Pepper Pot Calypso Songs Me Mama Never Taught Me, was a collection of innuendo-ridden compositions that did not even feature his name on the cover, probably as he did not want to lose his gigs at Jamaica’s exclusive nightclubs and tourist hotels.
In 1970, Creator’s album Big Bamboo also featured a number of ribald originals, though they were leavened with covers of songs by artists such as Harry Belafonte. That year also saw the release of Kingston Town as a 45 on the Jamaican producer Clancy Eccles’ Clan Disc label, but while it was a fine song it failed to generate a great deal of interest.
As reggae became heavier in sound and subject matter across the 70s, interest in Creator’s much lighter material began to wane. He did record two 45s with the dub producer Lee “Scratch” Perry in 1976 and 1977 – one of which, Such is Life, was a fine example of roots reggae. But changing fashions and the onset of alcoholism increasingly pushed him to the sidelines. By 1984 poverty had forced him to relocate to Trinidad.
UB40’s interpretation of Kingston Town therefore came as a welcome intervention. Featured on the group’s 1989 album, Labour of Love II, it became the second single to be released from the LP and sold more than 2m copies in the UK alone. At the time, Creator had been hospitalised by a stroke in Trinidad and declared that the publishing royalties were like winning the lottery.
Well recovered by the end of 1990, he returned to Jamaica that year to buy homes for himself and several of his children, while also making a considerable financial donation to Eccles, who had overseen the Kingston Town recording session.
Eccles was dissatisfied with this largesse and subsequently sued Creator to be credited as co-writer (and receive 50% of publishing), but lost the court case.
Renewed interest in Creator’s work saw him occasionally perform at ska festivals in Japan, the US and Europe, and ensured that his 1960s recordings were reissued on CD. However, he suffered another stroke in 2005, had to have back surgery in 2013 and by 2019 could no longer walk.
In 2022, on the 60th anniversary of Jamaica’s independence, the government conferred on him the Order of Distinction (officer class) for his contribution to the development of Jamaican music.
He is survived by his wife, Neseline, whom he married in 2000, and by eight children from various relationships.
• Lord Creator (Kenrick Randolph Patrick), singer and songwriter, born 21 August 1935; died 30 June 2023
