Daddy Rings

b. Everald Dwyer, 1972, Christiana, Manchester, Jamaica, West Indies. Dwyer became known as Daddy Rings as a reference to his love of flashy fingerwear. His initial experience as a DJ came from chanting on the Black Cat, Oneness and his uncle’s Culture -Shanti sound systems. After relocating to Kingston and graduating, he began an apprenticeship as a welder. In his leisure time he practised his sing-jay skills, a term used to describe artists who chat their rhymes with melody. Once he had mastered his style he achieved a successful audition with King Jammy. Recording at Jammy’s St. Lucia Road studio, Dwyer voiced his debut, the dancehall hit ‘Politician’, plus a number of tunes with Uncle T and John John. A brief spell with the Firehouse crew led to an encounter with Delroy Harrison. Harrison was impressed with Dwyer’s style and persuaded him to record at Gussie Clarke’s Anchor studio. In 1996 Clarke produced Freddie McGregor’s ‘Rumours’ and asked Daddy Rings to perform alongside the youthful veteran. The single topped UK reggae charts, exposing the DJ to international acclaim. Daddy Rings’ European success led to the release of his mixed debut album, Stand Out. The compilation demonstrated his singing style alongside the preferred DJ arrangements. In late 1996 he embarked on a tour of Europe, which incorporated an appearance at the MIDEM gala in Paris on the ‘New Artists’ stage alongside Anthony B. Daddy Rings followed his successful European debut supporting the Mighty Diamonds to rave reviews. His debut album was remixed with a slight variation in the track-listing for its UK release.