Performance · Production

Augustus Pablo

real name Horace Michael Swaby

Saint Andrew Parish, Jamaica · 1954-06-21 – 1999-05-18

Augustus Pablo is credited on 1,521 releases across 462 albums tracked on Gatefold, active 1971–2026 — the collector-built map of who actually made the music.

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1,521

Credits

462

Albums

Decades active

149

In collections

Biography

source

Jamaican reggae melodica and keyboard player, producer and label owner.
Born June 21, 1954 in St. Andrew, Jamaica, he learnt to play piano, organ, clarinet and xylophone, and popularised the melodica in reggae music.
For his first recordings he began working with Herman Chin-Loy, who regularly used the pseudonym "Augustus Pablo" to credit his B-sides (e.g. Big Thing / Jughead (Jamaica 1969) (opens in a new tab) or Reggae In The Fields), so Horace decided to keep the name for himself.
His collaboration King Tubbys Meets Rockers Uptown was crucial in the development of dub.
He ran the "Rockers Hi-Fi" sound system with his brother Garth Swaby, and the labels Rockers,,,,, and Pablo Records.
He opened a record shop in 1974 (Rockers international record shop, 135 Orange Street), owned by his brother and his good friend aka Micko).
He died May 18, 1999 in Kingston, Jamaica, after a long battle with health problems related to a nerve disorder.
Brother of Dudley "Manzie" Swaby. Father of Addis Pablo.
A 'PABLO' tag etched in the run-out area of Jamaican records often refers to Augustus Pablo productions, however a similar etching on pressings from would indicate mastering engineer Pablo instead.