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Artist News
Toots Hibbert dies
By Andy Malt | Published on Monday 14 September 2020
Toots Hibbert – frontman of reggae band Toots And The Maytals – has died, aged 77.
In a statement on Saturday, his family said: “It is with the heaviest of hearts to announce that Frederick Nathaniel ‘Toots’ Hibbert passed away peacefully tonight, surrounded by his family at the University Hospital Of The West Indies in Kingston, Jamaica. The family and his management team would like to thank the medical teams and professionals for their care and diligence, and ask that you respect their privacy during their time of grief”.
The cause of death has not been announced, but it is known that he had recently been hospitalised with COVID-19 symptoms and had been placed into a medically induced coma.
Over a long career, Hibbert is known for some of reggae’s biggest hits and best known songs, such as ‘Pressure Drop’ and ‘Monkey Man’. He is also credited with naming the then burgeoning genre with his 1968 single ‘Do The Reggay’.
Originally signed to Island Records, the band had several hits in the UK, and received a boost again some years later thanks to their popularity among punk and 2-Tone bands – with the likes of The Clash and The Specials recording covers of their songs.
Hibbert continued to front the Maytals with varying line-ups right up to the present day. The band’s 24th studio album, ‘Got To Be Tough’, was released just last month.
