Farewell, Prince Buster - you've taken that final One Step Beyond. I wonder if you've met up with Stinky Pommells yet?

I can't tell you how great Prince Buster records sounded on my parents' enormous, bass-heavy 1950s Blaupunkt radiogram:

As for the mysterious Stinky Pommells, he puts in an appearance on this elegiac number:

"Ghost Dance" was one of the twelve tracks on the 1968 Fabulous Records release, Prince Buster's Greatest Hits. "One Step Beyond" wasn't included - presumably because it was a humble B-side - but the A-side, "Al Capone", most certainly was:

The LP belonged to a close friend, who still shares my love of tough, roots music - I think that, for us, Prince Buster represented a sort of Jamaican equivalent of Bo Diddley for us: the same propulsive rhythm, wry humour and stripped-back musical unfussiness. The splendid "Earthquake" was one of our favourites:

I suggest that any feminist reading this (unlikely, I know) skips the next track - it will only upset you:

And anyone in favour of liberal sentencing policies should definitely avoid this one:

I'll end this little homage to a more innocent, more exciting musical age with a terrific Prince Buster instrumental,which I heard for the first time today. In case you're wondering what the relentless "Jet 707" reminds you of...

...the horn phrases are lifted straight from Duane Eddy's "Peter Gunn".