R.I.P. Metro Downbeat
Go back 19 March, 2024
Amplifiers. Valve, transistor, digital. Lightweight or heavyweight; literally or figuratively. The heart of the sound system. Back in the 1950s and 1960s, the valve amplifier was thé key element of a good sound with good sounding bass frequencies. Up until today, these heavyweight valve amplifiers, often powered by legendary KT88 valves, are to be handbuilt by audio experts who seldom share their electronic secrets. One of said experts was Percival Miller aka Metro, who built the notorious valve amps that powered the late great Jah Shaka’s sound. This mysterious one-eyed legend passed away last weekend; and here’s a tribute to his works and legacy.
Metro Downbeat. Picture by Seb Carayol, BelDUB edit
Metro was born in Jamaica in 1941 as the cousin of Tom the Great Sebastian, one of the first ruling sounds on the island. Mr. Miller got into electronics through servicing radios as a teenager. At the age of 16, in 1957, he emigrated to the United Kingdom, where he started gathering material to build his own sound system, naming it Metro Downbeat, after Sir Coxsone Downbeat from Jamaica. With this system, Metro was one of the first to run a sound in London, and thus a pioneering factor in the UK sound system diaspora.
In 1969, after running his sound for about ten years and after losing an eye in a fight while playing, Metro decided to pack up his sound and to focus on building amplifiers and other sound gear (in an interview with Seb Caroyol, he claims that he built the first siren and gave it to Jah Shaka).
With Metro gone, another pillar of the UK sound system scene has collapsed. A pillar that without a doubt had numerous facts and stories to share. Stories that will remain untold. Stories that should be documented for generations to come.