JUNIOR DELGADO emerged in the late 1970s as one of the leading singers in the “roots reggae” movement spearheaded by Bob Marley and the Wailers, although he later adap-ted to newer Jamaican styles and rhythms such as dancehall and raggamuffin.

Born Oscar Hibbert, he began singing in his teens as Junior Hibbert, with the vocal quartet Time Unlimited. The group came under the wing of the famous producer Lee “Scratch” Perry who recorded their biggest Jamaican hit, Reaction. The group also recorded with such producers as Niney, Rupie Edwards and Bunny Lee, but frustrated that their career was going nowhere and the sands were running out for Time Unlimited, in 1975 he launched a solo career and changed his name to Delgado, his long-time nickname, taken from the Spanish word for skinny.

Characterised by a gritty voice that always sounded as if he were racked with pain, his first solo success came with producer Earl “Chinna” Smith on such hits as Tition, Famine and Devil’s Throne, which appeared on his debut album, Taste of the Young Heart. The following year he started his own label, Incredible Jux, on which he released his second album Effort.

Yet the Jamaican recording scene is nothing if not promiscuous and he also recorded singles for a number of other labels and producers, including Prince Jammy, Joe Gibbs and Augustus Pablo, with whom he cut the classic singles Blackman’s Heart Cries Out and Away With You Fussing and Fighting.

After Marley’s death in 1981, Jamaican reggae began to move rapidly away from its “roots” sound towards a less political form and more urgent rhythm known as “dancehall”. Delgado proved readily adaptable and made the 1981 albums The More She Love It and Disco Style Showcase in the new style. However, he continued to work in roots vein with the influential duo Sly Dunbar and Robbie Shakespeare on singles such as Merry Go Round, which gave him a Jamaican No 1, and Fort Augustus. After releasing a fine album in 1982 with Bush Master M16 which straddled both sounds, he disappeared for 18 months while he served a prison sentence after a drug bust.

His first recordings in 1985 after his release were made in London, where he had a large following. Among them was Broadwater Farm, inspired by the difficulties of life on the crime-ridden Tottenham housing estate of the same name. The song proved to be a portent, for soon after the song was released as a single, Broadwater Farm erupted in riots and achieved notoriety when in the course of the disturbances a police constable was stabbed to death.

Teaming up again with Augustus Pablo, he proved his adaptability once again with the albums Ragga-muffin Year and One Step More, both recorded in the new raggamuffin style sweeping Jamaican music. Dividing his time equally between the Caribbean and Britain, he continued recording, although in the 1990s he became considerably less prolific.

His career underwent a significant revival in 1998 when he recorded the album Fearless, with a range of guests drawn from British pop music, including the Specials’ Jerry Dammers, the rapper Maxi Jazz from Faithless and the remixers Smith & Mighty. The next year he teamed up with the British-based producer Adrian Sherwood to record the album Reasons. He also recorded Junior Delgado Sings Dennis Brown, a tribute to his long-time friend and fellow singer, who died in 1999.

Junior Delgado, reggae singer, was born on August 25, 1958. He died on April 11, 2005, in London aged 46.