ENTITY · PERSON (ARTIST, SELECTOR, PRODUCER…)

Lord Flea

Well supported

Mento star of the 1950s calypso boom: singer and guitarist Norman Thomas, who took a Jamaican band to American clubs and television and recorded for Capitol when the US market wanted "calypso" — much of it actually mento. He died young in 1959, at the height of the craze.

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At a glance

Type: Person (artist, selector, producer…) →
Era: Mento and early local recording →
Confidence: Well supported
Sources: mento histories; Capitol discographies.

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Connections

Media & sources

Footage

Lord Flea with The Jamaican Calypsonians — Donkey City (10 inch)

YOUTUBE · rights discovery only · performs

Transfer of a 1953 10-inch pressing. Note that Lord Fly and Lord Flea both recorded a "Donkey City" — the two are routinely confused, and are catalogued separately here.

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Recordings

Lord Flea - Naughty little flea (audio)

YOUTUBE · rights discovery only · performs

Public youtube upload; embedded as a discovery-only reference pending editorial review.

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In stories

Story · Well supportedSmutty songs and the respectable ear

From mento's bawdy word-play to a BBC-banned reggae hit, Jamaican music kept colliding with the politics of decency.