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In the runup to the 1980 election, Stur-Gav fell victim to the violence that swept Jamaica and the
sound system was destroyed. Undeterred, U-Roy relaunched it the following year and brought in new DJs,
including up and coming stars Josey Wales and Charlie Chaplin. U-Roy would collaborate with the former
for the entertaining
Teacher Meets the Student,
whose tracks date from around this period. But perhaps the DJ was taking on too much between his
sound system, labels, and live appearances, for his next album,
Love Is Not a Gamble showed a
sharp decline in standards. U-Roy seemed to recognize this and subsequently his recorded output slowed
to a trickle of singles. He did, however, continue to perform live and on-stage, and his power
remained undiminished.
In 1982, he appeared at Reggae Sunsplash for the first time and a song from his powerful set can be
heard on the Best of Festival -- Day One compilation. In 1983, the DJ was behind the superb
King Stur-Gav Hi Fi Lee Unlimited
album, a live session recorded at his own sound system that featured a clutch of crucial DJs from
Dillinger to the young Beenie Man, his two favorite protégés Charlie Chaplin and Josey Wales, as well
as U-Roy himself. The follow-up, King Stur-Gav Sounds Live at Clarendon J.A., amazingly doesn't
feature U-Roy at all, except in the capacity of selector. The next year brought the excellent
'Hustling' single, cut for producer
Gussie Clarke,
'Get Ready' recorded for Ossie
Thomas, and a return engagement at Reggae Sunsplash that year, with a second appearance in
1985.
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