Veteran deejay Admiral Bailey says patrons attending this Saturday’s staging of Smirnoff Mello Vibes: Dancehall & Soca Jammin Up edition are in for a musical treat.

The recipient of several DJ of the Year awards, Admiral Bailey promises to deliver the dancehall hits and soca favourites that comprise his large musical arsenal.

“As the event says, Dancehall & Soca Jammin Up, so the patrons will get a little mixture, some of my dancehall hits and a couple soca. I guess that’s one of the reasons why the promoter invited me. The fans can look forward to a… good performance. Whenever I do things, I do it to the best of my ability,” the veteran artiste told the Jamaica Observer on Tuesday.

It was 32 years ago that Admiral Bailey stepped into soca territory. That year, he teamed up with Byron Lee and the Dragonaires for a track that would become a #1 hit, Dancehall Soca.

Admiral Bailey recalled its recording.

“How Dancehall Soca came about, Jammys was the producer and Dynamic Sounds, which was owned by Byron Lee, was the distributor, so the connection was there. I was the top dancehall artiste at the time, and they asked if I could do a collaboration with Byron Lee. I didn’t have any idea what the song would be like. They laid down their track and left the space for me to record my part, and I just put my magic to it,” he shared.

The artiste admitted that while he was pleased at the outcome of it, he had no idea it would have earned such a level of success.

“I didn’t know that it would be #1 on the charts, but I knew it was going to be a very strong song,” he said.

Dancehall Soca helped to bridge the relationship between dancehall and soca music at the time. However, Admiral Bailey recalled that some of his fellow industry players were not so receptive of the move.

“I remember when the dancehall put in with the soca, and I came under a lot of flak from my co-workers, that I was a sell-out and mi gone soca. Music is music, so that is how I viewed it from back then. After that, other dancehall artistes started to do soca music. It’s a good feeling to know that I was the first dancehall artiste to do a collaboration like that,” Admiral Bailey shared.

The now-veteran got his start on the sound systems, which later led to a prolific career in the dancehall arena.

“I started out with Twilight from Olympic Gardens, which carried me all over Jamaica. I used that opportunity to build my craft. I then went on to Roots Melody and then Stur Gav, but the sound that established me was King Jammys, where I really excelled. From there, I transitioned into music. My career really started out in the dancehall,” said Admiral Bailey, whose first hit song was One Scotch, a collaboration with Chaka Demus.

One Scotch, produced by Jammys, was released in 1986 and it quickly shot to the #1 spot on both the RJR and JBC Radio One music charts.

“One Scotch was the song that ‘buss’ mi. That song started it all for us. And when that song dropped, everyone started to look at us,” said Admiral Bailey.

Mello Vibes will also feature the musical juggling of a cadre of DJs, among them Liquid, Bloodline Franco and Brush1, DJ Marc Chin, and Bad Gyal Marie.

The retro party series is known for its delivery of hit songs from the 1980s to the 2000s.