The Jamaica Observer’s Entertainment Desk concludes its list of personalities who passed away in 2020.

DOBBY DOBSON

Highland “Dobby” Dobson, whose laid-back vocal style earned him hit songs in the pre-ska, rocksteady and reggae eras, died on July 21 at age 78 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

He succumbed to complications of COVID-19. He had suffered from dementia in recent years.

Born in Kingston, Dobson got involved in music while attending Kingston College in the late-1950s. He was a member of the school’s choir along with Norris Weir, who became famous as members of the group, The Jamaicans.

Though he had a minor hit song in the early 1960s with Cry A Little Cry, Dobson is best known for the 1967 hit song, I Am A Loving Pauper.

Dobson followed up with popular covers of Brook Benton’s Endlessly and That Wonderful Sound by Tom Jones. In 1968, he returned to Jamaican charts with Seems I’m Losing You, produced by Clement “Coxsone” Dodd.

Dobson was also a solid producer who directed roots-reggae group The Meditations on two albums.

He was awarded the Order of Distinction in 2011 by the Jamaica Government for his contribution to the country’s music.

CLIVE DUNCAN

Actor Clive Duncan — who became known to Jamaicans thanks to his role as Drapus (Mr Upton) on the 1980s sitcom Lime Tree Lane — died at home on July 16 after a battle with cancer.

The comedy aired on JBC TV from 1988 to 1997.

In addition to Lime Tree Lane, Duncan did work on stage as well as on the popular television soap opera Royal Palm Estate.

FREDRICK “TIPPA” MONCRIEFFE

Dancehall choreographer Fredrick “Tippa” Moncrieffe died of cancer in the University Hospital of the West Indies in Kingston, on February 18. He was 52.

Tippa was a regular fixture on entertainment series Intense, which airs on TVJ on Saturdays, which would see him sharing the latest dance moves with viewers.

He was also a tutor at Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts as well as an insider associated with Jamaica Cultural Development Commission’s World Reggae Dance Competition.

Purple Man

Deejay Purple Man, a member of producer Henry “Junjo” Lawes’ Volcano Records camp in the 1980s, died August 14 at the Kingston Public Hospital. He was 58 years old.

Born Anthony Jones, Purple Man was from Clones district in Manchester. He became a regular at dances in Waterhouse during the late 1970s, and performed mainly on the King Jammys, Lee’s Unlimited and Jack Ruby sound systems.

He joined the Volcano camp when it was led by Yellowman who, like him, is an albino.

Like Yellowman, Purple Man’s albinism made him a novelty, though not as big a star.

His most fruitful period came in the mid-1980s when Lawes and Volcano ruled the dancehall with a flurry of hit songs by Yellowman and Barrington Levy. The 1982 album, The Yellow, The Purple & The Nancy is a cult favourite in the United Kingdom.

Three years ago Purple Man released the album, Dancehall General. In 2018 and 2019, he did a handful of club dates in southern California.