Lee "Scratch" Perry Movies, TV Shows, and Filmography
Lee "Scratch" Perry
Acting
Biography
Lee "Scratch" Perry OD (born Rainford Hugh Perry; 20 March 1936 – 29 August 2021) was a Jamaican record producer, songwriter, and singer regarded as one of the pioneers of dub music and a major influence on reggae. Known for his experimental production techniques, innovative use of remixing, echo, and studio effects, Perry helped shape the sound of reggae and dub during the 1970s. Over the course of his career, he collaborated with artists including Bob Marley and the Wailers, Junior Murvin, Max Romeo, The Congos, Adrian Sherwood, Beastie Boys, The Clash, and The Orb. Perry was born in Kendal, Jamaica, in the parish of Hanover. Raised in a working-class family, he left school at the age of 15 and worked various jobs before moving to Kingston, where he became involved in the city’s growing music scene. He began his career in the late 1950s working for Clement “Coxsone” Dodd’s Studio One, where he performed a variety of roles including record seller, talent scout, songwriter, and musician. After disputes with Dodd, he moved to Joe Gibbs’s Amalgamated Records before eventually founding his own label, Upsetter Records, in 1968. One of Perry’s earliest hits, “People Funny Boy,” became successful in Jamaica and is often cited as an important early reggae recording because of its rhythmic style and use of sound effects. During the late 1960s and early 1970s, he worked extensively with his backing band, the Upsetters. Their instrumental track “The Return of Django” became an international success, reaching the UK charts in 1969. Around the same period, Perry began collaborating with Bob Marley and the Wailers, producing songs such as “Mr. Brown” and helping shape the group’s early sound. In 1973, Perry established the Black Ark studio in Kingston, Jamaica. Despite its limited equipment, the studio became legendary for its distinctive sound and experimental production methods. At Black Ark, Perry produced influential recordings for artists including Junior Murvin, The Heptones, Max Romeo, and The Congos. His productions from this period are considered some of the defining works of dub and roots reggae. By the end of the 1970s, however, personal and financial difficulties contributed to the decline of the studio, which was later destroyed by fire. After leaving Jamaica in the early 1980s, Perry spent time in the United States and Europe, continuing to record and perform. Collaborations with producers such as Adrian Sherwood and Mad Professor helped revive his international profile during the late 1980s and 1990s. He later worked with artists including Beastie Boys, Moby, Animal Collective, and Andrew W.K., while continuing to experiment with electronic and dub-inspired music. In 2003, Perry won the Grammy Award for Best Reggae Album for “Jamaican E.T.” He also received Jamaica’s Order of Distinction and the Gold Musgrave Medal for his contributions to music and culture. Perry remained active as a performer, producer, and visual artist into the final years of his life, continuing to tour and release recordings. He died on 29 August 2021 at the age of 85, leaving behind a legacy as one of the most influential and innovative figures in reggae and dub music history.
Filmography Movies
Acting
I Am the Gorgon: Bunny 'Striker' Lee and the Roots of Reggae
This feature length documentary charts the story of the great Bunny ‘Striker’ Lee. A legend himself, there’s not a lot of pioneers of roots and reggae that he didn’t work with, becoming the go-to producer for that dub sound coming out of Jamaica in the sixties and seventies, further cementing his legacy when he started licensing his productions straight to London labels. Diggory Kenrick’s doco calls on not only Lee himself to tell the story, but features the likes of U Roy, Dennis Alcapone, Lee “Scratch” Perry, Sly and Robbie, Johnny Clarke and Johnny Holt among others.
The Upsetter: The Life and Music of Lee Scratch Perry
The Upsetter tells the fascinating story of Lee Scratch Perry a visionary musician and artist from poor rural Jamaica who journeyed to the big city of Kingston in the late 1950’s with dreams of making it in the burgeoning record industry. He burst upon the scene with a brand new sound, inventing a genre of music that would come to be called Reggae, discovering a young Bob Marley and gaining international recognition as a record producer and solo artist. Soon he was being called upon by artists as diverse as The Clash and Paul McCartney to provide his unique sound.
Deep Into Dub
A German documentary that explores dub music, sound system culture and its influence
Lee Scratch Perry: The Unlimited Destruction
Footage of Lee Perry's finest titles, a feature on 'Lost Treasures of the ARK' and a special Jet Star preview of The Rasites.
Roots Rock Reggae: Inside The Jamaican Music Scene
'Roots Rock Reggae' depicts an unforgettable moment in Jamaica's history when music defined the island's struggles and immortalized its heroes. Director Jeremy Marre films Bob Marley and the Wailers, and Lee 'Scratch' Perry record in his legendary Black Ark studio with The Upsetters. Jimmy Cliff rehearses with Sly and Robbie, while Inner Circle's historic live gig is recorded on the violent Kingston streets. The legendary Abyssinians harmonize their haunting Rastafarian songs; Joe Higgs (formerly Bob Marley's teacher) plays and talks; majestic toaster U Roy raps alongside The Mighty Diamonds, and Third World record in a Kingston studio. There is also early archive footage of Toots and the Maytals, and Haile Selessie's royal visit to Jamaica while police and thieves battle it out on the streets, and the ghettos erupt in violence. 1977: An extraordinary year for Reggae music.
Rebel Music: The Bob Marley Story
Profile of the life and music of the legendary reggae singer.
Two Sevens Clash: Dread Meets Punk Rockers
Documentary about reggae music and culture in London in 1977. Filmed in Super 8 camera by Don Letts. With participation of Richard Branson, Neneh Cherry, Paul Cook, Sly Dunbar, Paul Weller, John Lydon, Joe Strummer, Siouxsie Sioux, Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry and others. Released in 2017.
RiseUp
Rise Up is a journey into the heart of Jamaica - the island that gave birth to the worldwide cultural phenomenon of Reggae. In a society where talent abounds and opportunity is scarce, three distinct and courageous artists fight to rise up from obscurity and write themselves into the pages of history. With music and appearances by legends Lee "Scratch" Perry, Sly Dunbar and Robbie Shakespeare, and a slew of soon-to-be superstars, Rise Up follows artists in the dangerous streets, back alleys and crowded dance halls of Kingston and the countryside. These artists demonstrate the raw power of hope and courage in a land which is largely unseen, but certainly not unsung.
The Revelation of Lee Scratch Perry
This documentary is set at Lee Perry's mountain top home and studio in Switzerland and features some of the actual sessions for the original studio recording of "Revelation". It focuses on Lee's work in collaboration with multi-instrumentalist Steve Marshall in both his engineering and his producer ("John Saxon") roles.
Production
Lee Scratch Perry's Vision of Paradise
Lee Scratch Perry's Vision of Paradise is a unique project in many ways. It is the life story of the legendary musician, but it is not a biography, it is a fairytale documentary! The director followed Lee Perry for thirteen years and discovered an unbelievable story, a revelation, told about and with one of the major protagonists of contemporary music, the other half of the story that has never been told. The movie can be seen as a guide for how to change the world with music, with a positive attitude, mindset or, as Lee Perry calls it, vibration.
Lee Scratch Perry's Vision of Paradise
Lee Scratch Perry's Vision of Paradise is a unique project in many ways. It is the life story of the legendary musician, but it is not a biography, it is a fairytale documentary! The director followed Lee Perry for thirteen years and discovered an unbelievable story, a revelation, told about and with one of the major protagonists of contemporary music, the other half of the story that has never been told. The movie can be seen as a guide for how to change the world with music, with a positive attitude, mindset or, as Lee Perry calls it, vibration.
Gallery
