‘Bob Clarke was foundational to reggae radio’

It would not be far-fetched to say that without Bob Clarke perhaps radio station Irie FM would not have come into existence. Those in the know, credit Clarke and his dogged determination to convince a somewhat sceptical Karl Young to apply for a radio licence some 35 years ago, and that station became the giant that Irie FM is today.

Clyde McKenzie, Irie FM’s first general manager, had a ringside seat to the events as they unfolded and, following the veteran broadcaster’s death on Tuesday, he shared with The Gleaner that story.

“Bob Clarke’s death is a massive blow,” McKenzie said, and paused deliberately as if observing a moment of silence. “The same person who called me about Sly [passing] on Monday called and told me that Bob had been rushed to hospital. Bob Clarke is a historic figure. He was foundational to reggae radio ... he was a central part of the whole set-up.”

Reports from McKenzie are that back in the day when the then JBC was divesting its regional stations across Jamaica, Bob Clarke, who was a singer in Karl Young’s band, went to him and told him to apply for a licence, but Young was initially not interested.

“At that time, Ocho Rios was Radio North East and when that divestment was happening, Bob pitched the idea to Karl ... but Karl ran him and told him that he wasn’t interested in any radio station. Bob persisted and Karl finally relented and asked him who was going to run the station. Bob told him that he was going to bring a little genius to him,” McKenzie recalled.

He continued, “The day that Bob brought the little genius to Karl, Karl nearly fell off his chair laughing. This little guy in glasses who looked like he was barely out of high school. But Karl took Bob’s word and employed the little genius and that was the start of Irie FM. That was the story as it goes.”

For those who haven’t already guessed the identity of, that “little genius”, it was none other than Clyde McKenzie himself.

With a chuckle, he tried out his best Karl Young voice, “’Bob, a this ah di [expletive times 10] genius yuh bring to mi?’ It wasn’t a flattering experience.”

Bob Clarke, McKenzie said, “was the guy who came to Karl with the idea of a radio station; I was the guy who came up with the idea for a 24-hour reggae station”.

He commended Bob Clarke for his ingenuity in writing and voicing the popular ‘Ziekel’ series of ads, which helped to popularise the station.

“Bob did all the Ziekel jingles ... he did all of the voices. Gary Saddler did some for us; Third World did some, Chalice did some and Dennis Howard brought in quite a few from people like Grub Cooper. It was a very creative process. It was a period of a lot of creative fervour,” McKenzie recalled.

He shared that he and Clarke became close friends during the “Irie days” and they would still catch up with news on each other’s family from time to time.

“ I spoke to him a couple of weeks ago with the promise that we would link up,” he said. “He had a business and he had left Irie and had gone to Mello, which was really a sad thing. He was a very knowledgeable person when it came to music, especially vintage Jamaican music ... He was on the top of his game. He developed quite a reputation for going out and playing vintage music. He will be missed.”

Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, Olivia Grange, in a statement, expressed “great sadness” at the passing of the radio broadcaster.

“Minister Grange worked closely with Clarke to establish Irie FM, the 24-hour reggae music station in the 1990s,” the release said.

“Bob Clarke was a household name across Jamaica because of his affable personality and his passion for Jamaican music,” Grange is quoted, as she recalled Clarke’s “willingness to promote local artistes” and highlighted his “contribution to broadcasting and the music industry”.

In 2018, Clarke was awarded the order of distinction by the government for his contribution to the development of Jamaican media and entertainment.

yasmine.peru@gleanerjm.com