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Judge Dread

Last of the Skinheads
Born
2 May 1945, Snodland, Kent, United Kingdom
Died
13 March 1998, Canterbury, Kent, United Kingdom
Also Known As
Alexander Minto Hughes, King of Rudeness
Genres
Skinhead Reggae, Ska
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Discography

138
Credits 23

Album

Showing all (8)
Issues
AverageAvg.
Ratings
Reviews
Ratings/Rev.
Title
/
Release Date
+1
3.63
23
2
23
2
Cover art: Working Class 'Ero
Working Class 'Ero
1974
+1
3.20
22
1
22
1
Cover art: Bedtime Stories
Bedtime Stories
1975
+1
3.28
41
2
41
2
Cover art: Last of the Skinheads
Last of the Skinheads
1976
+2
3.48
31
1
31
1
Cover art: Reggae & Ska
Reggae & Ska
1980
+1
3.74
6
6
-
Cover art: Rub a Dub
Rub a Dub
1981
 
2.66
3
3
-
Cover art: Not Guilty
Not Guilty
1985
 
3.59
8
8
-
Cover art: Dread, White and Blue
Dread, White and Blue
1995
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Live Album

Showing all (1)
Issues
AverageAvg.
Ratings
Reviews
Ratings/Rev.
Title
/
Release Date
 
2.14
2
2
-
Cover art: Live and Lewd
Live and Lewd
1988

EP

Showing all (3)
Issues
AverageAvg.
Ratings
Reviews
Ratings/Rev.
Title
/
Release Date
 
3.57
3
3
-
Cover art: 5th Anniversary E.P.
5th Anniversary E.P.
1977
 
-
-
Cover art: The Christmas Ep
The Christmas Ep
1978
 
3.52
2
2
-
Cover art: Big 6 / Big 7
Big 6 / Big 7
1980

Single

Showing all (25)
Issues
AverageAvg.
Ratings
Reviews
Ratings/Rev.
Title
/
Release Date

Appears On

Showing all (5)
Issues
AverageAvg.
Ratings
Reviews
Ratings/Rev.
Title
/
Release Date
 
3.00
1
1
-
Cover art: Ska Explosion
Ska Explosion [live]
1989 • Album • Various Artists
 
3.50
1
1
-
Cover art: A Tribute to the Spirit of 69
A Tribute to the Spirit of 69
1998 • EP • Various Artists
 
4.00
1
1
-
Cover art: SKA (The Very Best of Ska (disc 3))
SKA (The Very Best of Ska (disc 3))
2000 • Album • Various Artists
 
3.87
7
1
7
1
Cover art: Ska Wars 1979-1999
Ska Wars 1979-1999
2002 • Compilation • Arthur Kay & The Originals

Compilation

Showing 11 of 24 show all
Issues
AverageAvg.
Ratings
Reviews
Ratings/Rev.
Title
/
Release Date
 
3.35
5
5
-
Cover art: The Legendary Judge Dread
The Legendary Judge Dread
1994
 
3.21
6
6
-
Cover art: Big Fourteen
Big Fourteen
1995
 
3.93
7
1
7
1
Cover art: The Big Twenty Four
The Big Twenty Four
1995
 
3.74
9
9
-
Cover art: Ska'd For Life
Ska'd For Life
1996
 
3.03
4
4
-
Cover art: And So Shall Ye Be Judged
And So Shall Ye Be Judged
1998
 
3.08
10
1
10
1
Cover art: Ska Fever
Ska Fever
1998
 
3.80
6
6
-
Cover art: King of Rudeness
King of Rudeness
1999
Show all 24 Compilations

V/A Compilation

Showing 10 of 51 show all
Issues
AverageAvg.
Ratings
Reviews
Ratings/Rev.
Title
/
Release Date
+1
3.74
15
1
15
1
Cover art: Believe in Music
Believe in Music
1972
+1
3.77
22
2
22
2
Cover art: 24 Goofy Greats
24 Goofy Greats
1975
+2
3.48
16
1
16
1
Cover art: Oi! Oi! That's Yer Lot!
Oi! Oi! That's Yer Lot!
1982
 
3.82
11
11
-
Cover art: Ska Beats
Ska Beats
1996
 
3.51
13
13
-
Cover art: Ska Wars
Ska Wars
1999
 
3.90
36
1
36
1
Cover art: Trojan UK Hits Box Set
Trojan UK Hits Box Set
2002
 
3.59
11
1
11
1
Cover art: The Creole Reggae Box Set
The Creole Reggae Box Set
2004
 
3.39
57
2
57
2
Cover art: The Dawning of a New Era
The Dawning of a New Era
2008
Show all 51 V/A Compilations
Last of the Skinheads

Songs

Popularity | Top songs
See artist song chart
  • resist_retreat
    "Alex Hughes was a familiar character in Britain’s original skinhead culture, earning a living as a professional wrestler, debt collector for Trojan Records, bouncer at London’s West Indian clubs, and occasional bodyguard for visiting luminaries such as Coxsone Dodd and Duke Reid. But it was to Prince Buster that Hughes owed both his stage name and his original success. Besotted with Buster’s “Big Five”, Dread, now working as a DJ with his own sound system, recorded his own “Big Six,” basically an x-rated nursery rhyme which stayed on the charts for half a year with no airplay whatsoever, even crossing over into the Jamaican market, where audiences were astonished when Judge Dread turned out to be a burly white guy from the Garden of England. It also established Dread’s character, resulting in a string of chart-bound innuendo in spite of a near universal ban from “respectable” broadcasters. Bawdiness, though, has a history as an essential part of British culture. Dread’s curious hybrid of reggae and music hall was made explicit by the cover of George Formby’s “Grandad’s Flannelette Nightshirt” on Working Class ‘Ero, and official disapproval of his music resulted in the longest run of singles banned by the BBC. This recalls feminist campaigns against the “lewd” content of music hall shows back in the late 1800s (incidentally occasioning Winston Churchill’s first political speech, protesting the “Prudes on the Prowl,” who had caused the erection (sic) of screens around the Empire Theatre in Leicester Square). The strong class element of Dread’s music means that what may have become dated still stands in stark opposition to middle class pieties; it’s just offensive for different reasons. Dread’s hybrid also makes him perhaps the unlikeliest of bridges between old England and new England; a cheeky chappy carrying on skanking. But more than anything, Alex Hughes’ genius lay in the character he created; one who for all of his oversized slackness lived more in hope than expectation, whose point of comedic identification lay in his endearing fallibility, if not ridiculousness. More importantly, the irrepressible nature of the music makes it damned near irresistible."
    • RYM Rough Guide for Judge Dread

    Biography

    The King of Rudeness suffered from a heart attack and died during a concert on a Friday 13th.

    Judge Dread was the first white reggae artist to have a hit in Jamaica and most of his UK hits were banned from the radio because of the explicit and rude content.

    13 Lists

    Shows

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