Yabby You
b. Vivian Jackson, Kingston, Jamaica, West Indies. Yabby acquired his nickname from the drawn out, chanting refrain on his 1972 debut 45, Conquering Lion: Be You, Yabby Yabby You. Despite courting controversy in his repudiation of Rastafarian godhead Haile Selassie, in favour of a personalised form of Christianity, his output throughout the '70s and early '80s has nonetheless rarely deviated far from the orthodox Rastafarianism typically expressed at the time. As leader of the Prophets (additional personnel at various times included Alrick Forbes, Dada Smith, Bobby Melody and the Ralph Brothers) Yabby cut a remarkable series of roots reggae classics, including Jah Vengeance, Run Come Rally, Love Thy Neighbours, Valley Of Jehosaphat, Judgement On The Land, Fire In Kingston, Chant Down Babylon and many others, mostly appearing on his own Vivian Jackson and Prophets labels in Jamaica. 
With the release of RAMADAM in 1975, the UK variation of the Jamaican-issued CONQUERING LION (one or two tracks were different), Yabby swiftly acquired cult status in the UK: his name synonymous with reggae music of a particularly deep, spiritual nature. He also gained a reputation as a producer of other artists, including DJs Trinity, Jah Stitch, Dillinger, Prince Pompado, Tapper Zukie and Clint Eastwood, and singers Wayne Wade, Junior Brown, Willie Williams, Patrick Andy, Tony Tuff, and Michael Prophet. The '80s saw him retreat from the music business as his health deteriorated, though he made something of a comeback in the early '90s with some new productions and the re-appearance of many of his classic 45s and albums, re-pressed off the original stampers to cater for the large European collectors' market.