On July 28th 1967, British-based Jamaican music company, Island Records launched a label to showcase the output of one of the most popular and successful producers of the Ska and Rock Steady eras - Arthur 'Duke' Reid. The imprint, called 'Trojan' after the title Mr. Reid has acquired during his early days in the music business, surprisingly failed to fulfil its potential and folded after a matter of months. And this may well have been the end of the Trojan story had it not been for the creation of a new Jamaican music company, launched in the summer of '68, which was in need of a suitably dynamic name.
The result of a merger between by Island Records and its distributor B&C, 'Trojan Records' promptly launched an ambitious programme of issuing singles on a variety of labels that highlighted music from every producer of note, ranging from British-based music makers such as Robert 'Dandy' Thompson, to such esteemed Jamaican operators as Lee 'Scratch' Perry, Edward 'Bunny' Lee and, of course, Duke Reed himself.
