The first authorised biography of Jamaican sound engineer Osbourne Ruddock aka King Tubby has been translated to English. Penned by Thibault Ehrengardt, it follows a life of soundsystems, dub and electronics, from his origins in Waterhouse, Kingston, and his life's work at the Waterhouse Studio, up until his murder in February 1989.

"Writing King Tubby's world's first biography wasn't easy!” explains the official Facebook page. “Despite the agreement with his daughter Arleen Ruddock, things didn't go exactly as planned. [...] workers' withdrawals, requests for remuneration for interviews, refusal to cooperate from police departments.” They did it though, and it's now available alongside a host of rare photographs offered by Ruddock's family.

Described as “Very well written with a lot of reggae gossip!”, It was originally published in 2019 in French.

Buy from Sounds Of The Universe for a copy signed by the author, or direct from its publisher Dread Editions, who are offering to send an exclusive photo of King Tubby to the first 70 customers.