Prince Far I



Michael James Williams (c. 1944 – 15 September 1983), known as Prince Far I, was a Jamaican reggae deejay, producer and a Rastafarian. He was known for his gruff voice and critical assessment of the Jamaican government. His track 'Heavy Manners' used lyrics against measures initiated towards violent crime.

His first album, Psalms For I, featuring the Lord's Prayer and various psalms, was dedicated to the illiterate who could not read the Bible for themselves. He then worked with Joe Gibbs on the second album, Under Heavy Manners, before being signed by Virgin Records for their Frontline label. Twelve albums followed between 1978 and 1981, including the highly regarded Cry Tuff Dub Encounter series of dub albums, produced by Williams and released on his Cry Tuff label, and featuring the Roots Radics under the pseudonym The Arabs. Spending an increasing amount of time in England, he also collaborated with UK On-U Sound Records including providing vocals in the reggae collective Singers & Players and may be considered a mentor figure to Adrian Sherwood.

In 1983, he was recording the album Umkhonto We Sizwe (Spear of the Nation) with producer Roy Cousins in Kingston. Before the album was finished he was shot at his home in Kingston, Jamaica, during a robbery, allegedly relating to a dispute over money, and died later in hospital ... (read more at Wikipedia)

Links To Peel

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Festive Fifty Entries

 * None

Sessions
One session only (with Creation Rebel). No known commercial release.

1. Recorded: 1978-06-07. First Broadcast: 04 July 1978. Repeated: 18 October 1978, 28 May 1980, 11 September 1993, 22 December 1995,
 * Spoken Introduction / Black Man's Land / No More War / The Dream / Foggy Road / Front Line

Other Shows Played
(This list was compiled only from the database of this site and Lorcan's Tracklistings Archive and is almost certainly incomplete. Please add further details if known.)


 * 1970s
 * 21 August 1978: Front Line Speech Cry Tuff
 * 25 October 1978: You Have Eyes To See (LP – Long Life) Front Line
 * 31 October 1978: So Long (LP – Long Life) Virgin
 * 20 December 1978: Long Life (LP – Cry Tuff Dub Encounter Chapter 1) Hitrun
 * 14 May 1979: Gongola Dub (LP - Cry Tuff Dub Encounter Part 2) Front Line
 * 25 June 1979: Suru-Lere Dub (LP-Cry Tuff Dub Encounter Part 2) Front Line
 * 02 July 1979: Gongola Dub (Cry Tuff Dub Encounter Part 2) Virgin
 * 18 October 1979: Call On I In Trouble (LP-Free From Sin) Trojan
 * 03 December 1979: Red Sea (?) Cry Tuff
 * 10 December 1979 (& Errol Holt): Musical History Cry Tuff


 * 1980s
 * 02 January 1980: I And I Are The Chosen One (LP - Creation Rockers Volume 1) Trojan
 * 04 March 1980: Plant Up (LP - Cry Tuff Dub Encounter Chapter III) Daddy Kool
 * 07 August 1980: Low Gravity
 * 26 August 1980 (& Congo Ashanti Roy): 83 Struggle
 * 22 June 1981: Put It Out (single) Free
 * 27 December 1988 (BFBS) (& I-Roy): Jazzbo Have Fe Run (7") Student


 * 1990s
 * 06 October 1990: Message From the King (Compilation CD-Beyond The Front Line) Front Line / Virgin
 * 12 January 1991: No More War (single) white label
 * 16 June 1991: (& Dub Syndicate): Wadada (compilation album - Give Peace A Dance) CND
 * 09 April 1994 (BFBS): Long Life (album - Cry Tuff Dub Encounter Chapter 1)
 * 30 April 1994 (BFBS): A Message (album - Cry Tuff Dub Encounter Chapter One) Hitrun
 * 03 May 1994 (BBC World Service): The Encounter (album - Cry Tuff Dub Encounter Chapter One) Hitrun
 * 26 August 1998 (& Culture): Message From The King (Cry Tough Records)
 * 30 November 1999: No More War (7") Virgin Front Line


 * 2000s
 * 10 February 2000: Show Me Mine Enemy (LP - Under Heavy Manners) Joe Gibbs
 * 29 March 2000: Psalm 24 (LP - Psalms For I) Carib Gems
 * 02 April 2000 (BFBS): Psalm 24 (LP - Psalms For I) Carib Gems
 * 13 April 2000: Psalm 1 (LP - Psalms For I) Carib Gems
 * 23 April 2002: Psalm 49 (LP – Psalms For I) Pressure Sounds
 * 08 May 2002: Psalm 49 (LP 'Psalms For I') Carib Gems
 * 23 May 2002 (Radio Eins):Psalm 49 (album - Psalms For I) Carib Gems CGLP 1002 possibly from 2002 rerelease on Pressure Sounds
 * 28 May 2002: The Lord’s Prayer (LP – Pslams For I) Pressure Sounds
 * 03 July 2002: Stop The War (7") Wambesi
 * 08 October 2002: Stop the War (7 inch) Wambesi
 * 31 October 2002 (Radio Mafia): Stop The War (7 inch) Wambesi
 * 29 April 2003: Bedward, the Flying Preacher (7") Sound Boy
 * 26 August 2003: (& Ghetto Priest) Dungeon (7") Sound Boy
 * 16 September 2004: Psalm 2 (LP - Psalms For I) Carib Gems
 * 14 October 2004: (JP: "Wonder what made me think that Prince Far-I was sampled on this? [ref: Klute: Time 4 Change] ...It's called Time For Change, and there's gonna be a bit of a change over the next couple of weeks while I'm away. I hope you listen to and enjoy those programmes. I'll be back in your midst at the beginning of November, refreshed I hope, and with loads of your requests to play too, and a session from Lali Puna on Tuesday. Thanks as always for listening, and coming up now, it's Anne Nightingale.")