“Reader, if you seek my memorial just look around you.”

The epitaph in St Paul’s Cathedral for architect Christopher Wren

If Karl Young had been seized by a fit of vanity he might have pompously though accurately declared that “if you seek my legacy, just listen carefully and you will hear”. For, in a sense, he could be compared to the Marley referenced “natural mystic” whose essence was everywhere. Yes, his legacy is certainly in the air for all who have ears to hear, as there can be no doubt that this man whose features would have been largely unrecognised in the social pages of our national newspapers affected Jamaican and by extension modern popular culture in a manner that has been unimaginable in its impact.

I first met Karl Young some time in the Fall of 1985 at the behest of Bob Clarke. The administration of then prime minister, Edward Seaga, had announced that it would be divesting the assets of the regional entities operated by the now defunct Jamaica Broadcasting Corporation and had requested applications for licences to establish private sector driven radio entities to replace them. Bob Clarke, who had worked with me at the hugely popular and freshly shuttered Radio North East (RNE) — which had among its alumnus Tony Young, Judith McClaughlin, Glynnis Salmon, Franklene Frater and Carmen Patterson — was not content to give up on his bright prospects as a broadcaster and so proposed to Karl Young that he should apply for a licence to run a station.

Karl had been operating a successful JTB concession which saw him providing entertainment for tourists at a number of locations across the island. Those who had the privilege of attending any of these weekly events could attest to the high quality in food and entertainment which were features of Karl’s offering. Karl had a passion for excellence, a trait which would inform his business ventures and underpin the success of IRIE. He had a band, Rockers International, which featured such instrumentalists as Gizmo and Beezy who would later go on to great renown playing for the Marleys and other outstanding Jamaican artistes. The band boasted a number of vocalists including Mickey Spice, Ed Robinson and Bob Clarke.

Karl had been operating a successful JTB concession which saw him providing entertainment for tourists at a number of locations across the island. Those who had the privilege of attending any of these weekly events could attest to the high quality in food and entertainment which were features of Karl’s offering. Karl had a passion for excellence, a trait which would inform his business ventures and underpin the success of IRIE. He had a band, Rockers International, which featured such instrumentalists as Gizmo and Beezy who would later go on to great renown playing for the Marleys and other outstanding Jamaican artistes. The band boasted a number of vocalists including Mickey Spice, Ed Robinson and Bob Clarke.

My first encounter with Karl was to say the least interesting. I was really not prepared for what I was supposed to expect. Bob introduced me to Karl who took a quick puff of his cigarette, asking Bob with a chuckle punctuated by a loud cough: “Is this the @#&*^ genius you tell me bout?”

Karl was in disbelief as my frame nor manner and the fact that he I was under 30 did not inspire much confidence, nor should it have. Clearly he was not given to formality and his seemingly gruff manner would not have abided our usual sense of decorum. He would proceed to pepper me with questions and after almost two hours of conversation, a feature I would later learn is very rare in encounters with Karl, he finally blurted, “all right then station manager”.

I recognised he was unconventional but immediately took a liking to him. Bob and I would dictate the application letter to his secretary, who was the daughter-in-law of his most trusted and important ally, Beresford Warren. We gave Karl the letter to sign and the following day would borrow a vehicle from our friends the Bermanns, to drop off the document at the Jamaica Broadcasting Corporation on South Odeon Avenue in Kingston. The rendezvous would history had begun.

Our friend, Colin Mills who was an important political player (he was a parish councillor with national influence) was adamant that Karl should get the licence as he wanted to see a station that was free of political interference and Karl did not have any baggage. Among some of the applicants were individuals who had strong connections to the ruling JLP whom Colin did not favour as he did not want a licensee who would have any taint of a political bias. Colin would lobby his influential friends, most notable among them Olivia ‘Babsy’ Grange to look favourably on Karl’s application.

It would seem that Colin’s argument that Karl should be considered carried the day as some three years after the application was left at the JBC it was announced that a licence had been awarded to a group headed by Karl Young.

By this time, a young entertainment lawyer named Lloyd Stanbury would join the team of pioneers which would establish IRIE FM. Karl, Bob, Lloyd and I would meet every Wednesday and Saturday to plot the course. It would take some two years of such meetings and negotiations before we were finally comfortable about going forward.

Even before he had received the licence, Karl had reasoned that he needed a place to house the station and he had Mr Warren construct the building on the property then known as the Coconut Grove Great House and which today still serves as the home of IRIE FM. The building would also house the famous Grove Recording Studios which saw such giants as Stephen Stewart, Stephen Stanley, Barry O’Hare and Andrew Thomas working on projects for artistes such as Jimmy Cliff, Toots Hibbert, Lee Scratch Perry, Burning Spear, Black Uhuru, Third World and Steel Pulse among others.

Grove Studio would play a pivotal role in the production of many of the jingles which would redefine Jamaican radio. It was at the Grove Studio in a session led by Stephen Stewart where we recorded Reggae In the Morning (the anthem for the station which I wrote) with Bob Clarke, Dionne Mattis, Dennis Howard, Kathy Owen and me on vocals. Stephen Stewart had recorded a track for the late Mickey Simpson featuring the legendary Ernie Ranglin on guitars. Stewart immediately realised that the instrumental track he had would fit nicely with the air of the little ditty he had heard and the result was Reggae in the Morning, stamped with the genius of Ranglin.

There are many names associated with this great odyssey who are largely unknown. Engineering genius, Duval Pearson — the brother of my late first wife Brenda — was the man responsible for the amazing sounds of Irie and Zip. He is still in charge of the engineering for the station. There are many more individuals who played a pioneering role at IRIE and they will be revealed in subsequent articles.

Many have asked how did we happen on the all-Reggae concept. In my next instalment of this great Jamaican story I will continue to chronicle the series of events which changed Jamaican media and entertainment forever.