Duke Vin (1928–2012)

Jamaican sound man Duke Vin in the DJ booth playing a record. He wears a black hat and holds an empty record sleeve. — © Claudia Elliot

In memory

On the 3rd of November, 2012—after more than half a century of DJing—the legendary Duke Vin passed away.

The Tickler

As a selector, Duke Vin favoured rhythm & blues, ska, rocksteady and reggae from the 50s, 60s and 70s. He was said to have one of the best collections of Jamaican music in the world and was famous for having the sole original copy of Derrick Harriott produced reggae tune “The Tickler” (first issued to the public on CD in the 1990s).

Vintage advert for Duke Vin's Blues Dance at The Marquee club

Early years

Duke Vin began his career in the early 1950s as a selector for Tom The Great Sebastian—one of the first major Sound Systems in Jamaica.

He moved to London later in the decade, introducing England to Jamaican rhythm & blues and ska through his own Sound, which was the first in the UK. Duke Vin continued to play at the Notting Hill Carnival, on Gaz Mayall’s Rockin’ Blues Sound, well into the 2000s.

During the 1960s, Duke Vin played at some of London’s top West End clubs: the original Marquee club on Oxford Street, its new premises on Wardour Street, and The Flamingo, also on Wardour Street.

In the following decades, the Duke continued to DJ all over London and beyond.

Duke Vin at Right On

Dr. Séculaire was honoured to host Duke Vin at Right On on 13th September 2003 at The Thirteen Club in Gerrard Street, Chinatown. At the time, this was a rare chance to hear the Duke play in a West End club on a Saturday night—just a stone’s throw from the location of The Flamingo where he played in the 60s.

What was planned to be a two-hour set with The Matador providing MC duties on the mic, turned into three hours as the capacity crowd just couldn’t get enough.