By Mel Cooke,. Freelance Writer
Tony Matterhorn
WESTERN BUREAU:
TONY MATTERHORN got many boos in his first round but later collected - or, rather, retained - a huge gold-coloured trophy without having to play his last scheduled set at Pier 1, Montego Bay, St. James on Monday night.
As defending champion, he played the last of six sound systems. He came after Kilamanjaro, Rebel Tone from Canada, Bass Odyssey from St. Ann, Madd Squadd out of Montego Bay and the Far East rulers, The Mighty Crown. Matterhorn started out in a very relaxed mood. "Freddy, yu still a lead fi now," he said, referring to Kilamanjaro's selector, as the foundation sound had led out with a torrid set. Leaning against the post of a tent, he started out with Lukie D a capella, slung a Vybz Kartel tune at Bass Odyssey and played Junior Gong's Justice - on dub plate, naturally.
When the boos started and Kilamanjaro's selectors began jeering, Tony Matterhorn said: "Freddy, yu done know we strategy. Yu done tek de firs' roun. Me naa run yu dung. Fus' roun' no mean s... Mi hear two man sey boo. Yu tink dat mean nutten to me?"
'DEATH BEFORE DISHONOUR'
He proved as good as his word, as he went on to take the next three rounds and effectively won the clash, billed as 'Death Before Dishonour', without needing to play a fifth and final set as dawn rose over the Montego Bay, St. James, venue. However, he proved himself a gracious winner, ushering the crowd out of Pier 1 with a final juggling of dub plates.
DJ Wayne from IRIE FM ran the show, organising the draw for playing positions, laying out the rules and calling time when the sound systems' allotment was up. The crowd judged the clash, as after each round they were asked which sound system was the winner - and which should go home.
The sound systems were slated to play five rounds consisting of 10 minutes, 15 minutes, another 15 minutes and then two 10-minute rounds each. They were set to go 'dub for dub' only if two sound systems tied at the end of five rounds - which did not happen.
One sound was set to be eliminated in the second round - again at the crowd's choosing - and two in the third round.
FIRST TO BE ELIMINATED
Surprisingly, Bass Odyssey from St. Ann was the first to be eliminated. Playing third, they were greeted with cheers in their first round, living up to their greeting with Sizzla's Clean Up Yu Heart and juggling Beenie Man, Vybz Kartel and Jah Cure's Armageddeon War.
However, they were guilty of too much chatter in their second round, started out on the wrong foot with Morgan Heritage and not even Wayne Marshall and Bounty Killer's We No Normal could revive their fortunes. By the time they got to Beres Hammond crooning 'what can you do to stop your sound from dying' the boos and slow handclaps had started and they were eliminated by popular vote.
LACKED CROWD SUPPORT
Hometown sound Madd Squadd and the Canadian visitors and World Champs Rebel Tone were next to go. Rebel Tone's selector Nubie made it plain that he was the only one to be selecting and talking all by himself - and did a good job of it too - but he lacked crowd support. A good series of Baby Cham dubs, including Bad Mind, was not enough to save Rebel Tone from elimination, even though every time he started a round numerous rockets went up.
Madd Squadd said goodbye to Rebel Tone in that round, not knowing that they should be packing their bags as well. They started out with a calypso dub, which fell flat and, despite playing John Gotti's Never, they - well, never really recovered. Their final tune for the clash was by John Holt.
With three sounds left in the running, but Materhorn two rounds up to Kilamanjaro's one, only Freddy could have made a fight of it. They started out well enough, going into foundation dub plates from Johnny Osbourne and Super Cat, but the crowd soon grew weary of the old school and flung some boos in Jaro's direction.
DID NOT WIN A ROUND ALL NIGHT
Mighty Crown did not win a round all night, but gave a good account of themselves in word and music. Bushman's Lighthouse, Fire Lion dropping a Boom on Tony Matterhorn and dubs by Johnny Clarke, Beres Hammond and Glen Washington lit up their first round. An Elephant Man dub slung at all the sounds lit up their second round and they shot a Sean Paul to Matterhon's heart ('Matterhorn flop') in the following round.
However, none were good enough to give Tony Matterhorn a run for his money at Pier 1 on Monday night.
In recognition of their contribution to the dancehall industry, Irish and Chin, the promoters of the 'World Clash' series, recognised several cassette vendors. Cassette Wareika, Bigga Taff, The Real Gully Man, Garnett & Lloyd, Cassette Jones, Cassette Ninja and Danny Dread were all presented with plaques for their efforts over the years.
