Bellyman
Mon 20 Jan 2025
12am
FREE
Reggae DJ Rankin Bellyman hails from Islington in London, England and grew up immersed in the sound system culture of the capital during the late 70's and early 80's. He began collecting Jamaican records from an early age and has amassed one of the finest libraries of original Reggae vinyl on the planet, along with an encyclopaedic knowledge of the genre.
Bellyman played his first professional gig at the tender age of 15 with local sound system, People’s Music, before going on to hold residencies at notorious venues, Dingwalls in Camden Town and Soho’s Wag Club. In 1989 he set up his own club nite, Homelands, in the heart of London’s West End.
Summer ‘91, Bellyman relocated to Cork, Ireland where he began residencies at the infamous venue Sir Henry’s, The Donkey’s Ears and his own club nite, Deliverance. He joined now legendary Cork pirate station, Radio Friendly at it's inception, broadcasting his weekly cult Reggae show ‘The Jamdown’ every Sunday afternoon for over seven years.
Bellyman was commissioned by national Irish station RTE Radio 1
to write, compile and co-present the groundbreaking radio show ‘Rebel Music, Reggae Story’. The five episode series was a complete history of Jamaican music, which was first broadcast in October 2008 and received huge critical acclaim.
Between 2002 and 2007, Bellyman opened Roots Records in Kinsale, a specialist Reggae vendor. He has worked exclusively for Pressure Sounds record label in the UK, helping to compile classic re-issue Reggae compilations. He now runs his own online record store, Dub Defender, selling rare and collectable vinyl.
Bellyman plays the hardest, coolest and funkiest set from old school Studio One, Classic Roots and Rub A Dub to the freshest One Drop, Dub Plates and Dancehall Flava. Guaranteed to ‘Nice Up the Dance Everytime’ He continues to ‘play out’ at various venues and festivals in Ireland, UK, Europe and Jamaica.
He remains the DJ of choice to play support for visiting Reggae acts in Cork and was once described by the late, great Jamaican vocalist, Joseph Hill as "My Favorite DJ". Bellyman has played alongside the likes of - The Wailers, The Skatalites, Lee “Scratch” Perry, Sly & Robbie, Gregory Isaacs, Culture, Mighty Diamonds, Horace Andy, Vin Gordon, Luciano, Wailing Souls, Desmond Dekker, Junior Murvin, Dawn Penn, U Brown, Levi Roots, Mad Professor, Oxman, The Beat, Zion Train, Mafia & Fluxy and many more.
