I was actually in attendance at this 1984 Gregory Issacs gig at the Brixton Academy in South London and I was thrilled to see that it posted on YouTube.

I wish I could claim that I was there to see the “Cool Ruler” because I was such a hip teenager, but I was really only there because my friend had free tickets and we thought we’d be able to get really stoned at a reggae concert, frankly. And I only lived a few blocks away from the venue at the time.

“The Lonely Lover” had the crowd (especially the women) in the palm of his hand before he even opened his mouth to sing. As you can see, the audience went totally nuts when he walked onstage. I may have gone into the show completely ignorant of Issac’s music, but I left a fan. He’s backed here by the Roots Radics.

01. Intro/Top Ten + Number One
02. Out Deh + Tune In
03. Top Ten
04. Private Secretary
05. My Only Lover + All I Have Is Love + Love Is Overdue
06. Cool Down The Pace
07. Mr. Brown + Storm
08. Slave Master
09. Soon Forward
10. Sunday Morning
11. Night Nurse
12. Front Door
13. Border

“Night Nurse” brought the house down, but the entire set is scorching hot from start to finish. It was also released as an album

I saw Gregory Issacs performing in New York, years later at SOBs, and by then he was a near toothless crackhead shadow of the confident performer seen here at the absolute height of his powers. His voice was shot by then and so was he. Issacs died of lung cancer in 2010.
 

 
More sad news in the music world: the great roots reggae crooner, Gregory Issacs has died. Issacs was well-known for his soulful vocalizing and “lover’s rock” sound. He was also known for being the reggae world’s answer to Keith Richards. Issacs died in his London home after traveling around Jamaica for a while following a lung cancer diagnosis last year. He was 59-years-old.

Below, “the cool ruler” in a memorable performance from the movie Rockers: