Father Wally of Inner City sound remembered

The dancehall community is mourning the death of Walford ‘Father Wally’ Jibberson, the owner of Inner City Sound system, one of the most iconic megawattage sound systems which ruled the roost in the late 1980s and 1990s blasting the electronically enhanced riddims of the best dancehall DJs across the globe.

He was in his 80s at the time of his death.

Veteran sound system selector, Tony Matterhorn, expressed his condolences to the family of Father Wally, calling him “one of the greatest characters in sound system culture”.

“The sound system was next door to my family in about 1987, the year before Gilbert, and mi used to just go and look on the pretty lights. Father Wally ah one of the greatest, him give me my first shot [job on a sound system] and all of the selectors, Richie, Cavey, Mark Dragon and Danny will tell you say him is just a straightforward man,” Matterhorn said.

Matterhorn used to play on the Inner City Sound System, before moving on to Poison Dart and King Addies before goiing solo.

Matterhorn said Father Wally was one of the first to pay artistes handsomely for special dubplates.

“Inner City was Shabba and Ninjaman dem sound, every artiste from Kingston 13, Singing Melody, Pinchers, Johnny P, Inner City was fi dem sound, he was a great man,” Matterhorn added.

Iconic sound system owner Winston Powell has fond memories of Father Wally.

“Father Wally was always a jovial person, I used to see him a lot and we always had a good relationship. He played a key role in the development of sound system culture all over the island and Inner City was one of the most dominant sounds in the 1980s: Inner City, Stone Love, Metromedia,” Winston ‘Father Pow’ Powell, founder of Stone Love Movements, said.

“Inner City was one of the biggest sound systems, with Mark Dragon and Danny as the two main selectors. I remember Inner City winning a big all-island sound system clash in the 1990s, it was a big sound system. Bwoy, sorry him gone, he was a fun-loving guy who loved to play dominoes,” Powell added.