One of the most important directions in the history of reggae no longer exists. The Channel One studio, located in 29 Maxfield Avenue, Kingston, It was demolished last Friday 5 September without authorization from the Kingston and Saint Andrew Municipal Corporation (KSAMC), leaving only some ruins standing and an open investigation.
Tony Hoo Kim, member of the family that owns the premises, avoided referring to this matter, although he said that it is a “legal matter”, that he could not give statements and at the same time he did not identify who carried out the demolition, according to what was quoted by the newspaper Jamaica Observer.
The cradle of the Jamaican sound
Channel One was not just another studio. It was founded by the Hoo Kim brothers in 1972: Joseph “Yes Yes”, the major and main producer of most of the label's records, deceased in 2018; Paul, murdered in Greenwich Town in 1977; Kenneth, deceased in 2013; y Ernest, studio sound engineer. His family history was also the history of the place.
That's where he was born The Revolutionaries, the band led by the drummer Sly Dunbar, con Robbie Shakespeare on the bass, Ansel Collins on keyboards and Tommy McCook on saxophone.
From those sessions came classics like “Africa” e “I Need a Roof” de The Mighty Diamonds; “Ballistic Affair” by Leroy Smart; “Jah Jah Give Us Life” de The Wailing Souls; and “Woman Is Like a Shadow” de The Meditations.
When The Revolutionaries disbanded in the late 1990s 70, the Roots Radics took their place and continued building the catalog: “Shine Eye Girl” and “Looking My Love” de Barrington Levy, among others.
Without authority
The KSAMC Urban Planner, Robert Hill, assured that the organization “found out about this demolition 8 September and began his investigations” and that “So far we have determined that no approval was granted for a demolition at this location”.
The studio's operations had slowed since the late 1990s. 80, but Channel One's catalog was still distributed globally. What remained of the building was living heritage. Now they are rubble.
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