October 18 marks the 11th year since the death of South African singer Lucky Dube. The Jamaica Observer reflects on his performances in Jamaica.

“He was something out of this world,” Ronnie Burke said as he recalled the night South African star Lucky Dube performed in Jamaica for the first time. Burke was director at the Reggae Sunsplash festival when Dube made his debut on the show on July 17, 1991 in Montego Bay.

“We took a chance on him; we liked his music but we had never seen him perform before,” Burke told the Jamaica Observer. “I think we put him on a night called ‘World Beat Night’ to a modest crowd. If I were to look back at the 18/19 years of Sunsplash I’d say he was one of the most outstanding performers we had. He was so powerful that even our staff ran to the front of the stage to watch him,” he continued.

Dube appeared in a camouflage outfit and captivated the audience with a spirited performance filled with dancing. His set was complemented by his personal band, which was another spectacle.

“He didn’t just have a band, it was a unit,” said Burke. “It was a compelling performance. His back-up singers were amazing, they were dancing. As a matter of fact, everybody was dancing, even his guitarist. His music was real, authentic reggae, he sounded like Peter Tosh.”

Burke said it wasn’t a hard sell to get Dube on the show as he was excited to come to Jamaica. This ultimately led to a second performance in Jamaica the following year on the Sunsplash stage.

“I think we put him on a Friday or Saturday in front of a big crowd and he was just as powerful,” said Burke. “We’ve had outstanding performers like Bob Marley, Steel Pulse and Third World but Lucky Dube’s performance was unlike anything we’d ever seen.”

Dube’s last performance in Jamaica was in March 2007 where he performed at the opening ceremony at the Cricket World Cup in Trelawny. Months later, the singer died after being shot three times in front of his two children in Johannesburg on October 18. He was 43-years-old.

Lucky Dube reportedly got his first name after his mother had problems conceiving. Raised in Ermelo (near Johannesburg), he started a career singing South African popular music (Mbqanga) and recorded six albums before switching to reggae in the 1980s. His debut reggae album Rastas Never Die (1984) was unsuccessful but Dube’s luck would change with subsequent releases, Think About The Children (1985) and Slave (1989).

Dube’s music was inspired by the racially-divisive apartheid system in his country, as well as his idols Peter Tosh and Bob Marley. A remembrance CD titled The Times We’ve Shared was released last year by Gallo Music South Africa to honour the singer’s legacy.