Yellowman
b. Winston Foster, Jamaica, West Indies. Yellowman was the deejaying sensation of the early '80s and he achieved this status with a fair amount of talent and inventive and amusing lyrics. He mainly built his early career around the fact that he was an albino and his success has to be seen within its initial Jamaican context. The albino or ‘dundus’ is virtually an outcast in Jamaican society and Foster's early years were more difficult than anyone outside of Jamaica could possibly imagine. Against the odds he used this background to his advantage and, like King Stittwho had previously traded on his physical deformities, Foster paraded himself in the Kingston dance halls as Yellowman, the DJ with endless lyrics about how sexy, attractive and appealing he was to the opposite sex. Within a matter of months he went from social pariah to headlining act on Jamaican stage shows and his popularity rocketed. Obviously the irony of his act was not lost on his audiences. His records were both witty and relevant—Soldier Take Over being a fine example—and he was the first to release a live album—not of a stage show but actually recorded live on a sound system- LIVE AT ACES,which proved hugely successful and was widely imitated. It captured him at the height of his powers and in full control of his ‘fans’ None of the excitement is lost in the transition from dancehall to record. 
Yellowman's records sold well and he toured the USA and UK to ecstatic crowds—his first sell-out London shows caused traffic jams and road blocks around the venue. He could do no wrong and even his version of I'm Getting Married In The Morning sold well. He was soon signed for a major deal to CBS and was King Yellow to everyone in the reggae business. This did not last and by the mid-80s it had become difficult to sell his records to the fickle reggae market. By this time, however, he had been adopted by ‘pop’ audiences all over the world as a novelty act and while he has never become a major star he is still very popular and his records sell in vast quantities in many countries. He has released more records than a great many other reggae acts—no mean feat in a business dominated by excess. Made both rich and successful through his DJing work, it is mainly his ability to laugh at himself and encourage others to share the joke which has endeared him to so many. It should be immediately apparent to all who has had the last laugh.