"It don't touch road yet," Dunkley said.

He will soon 'touch the road', though, as in late July, he is off to England where he will attend two award shows. He said the events focus on performers who had hit songs in England when reggae was starting to make its mark there.

He said that at the time he had moved to England and "Sugar Minott was there, Gregory Isaacs, Ken Boothe, Dennis Brown". However, he and Minott "were more involved, we were producing young British artistes".

Dunkley has been active on both sides of the Atlantic, as he said on Mother's Day this year he did a show at the Rose Garden in Brooklyn, then another concert in Bronx shortly after. Last year, there was the Rototom Sunsplash in Italy and a Toronto Canada Day event in July.

Dunkley is no stranger to the European scene and he told The Sunday Gleaner "I went to England in the middle of the '70s. I was working with a company in England, but I generally came home to do recordings".

He was signed to Celluloid in France, which Dunkley said took his OK Fred to the top of the French charts and his voice rings with pride as he speaks about sailing down the French Riviera.

And Dunkley's music is alive and in good hands, with Sanctuary distributing over 60 of his songs in England and publisher Paul Rodriques taking care of that side of his musical affairs.

- Mel Cooke