They say you can learn a lot about a person by the company they keep. If that’s the case then Lowell Fillmore ‘Sly’ Dunbar, the legendary drummer and one half of the equally celebrated Jamaican rhythm section and production duo Sly and Robbie, was deserving of all the plaudits that came his way.

Over the course of his nigh-on 60-year career, Dunbar, who has died aged 73, provided the propulsive backbeat for such illustrious artists as Bob Dylan, Grace Jones, the Rolling Stones, Sinead O’Connor, Yoko Ono, Peter Tosh, Jimmy Cliff, Gwen Guthrie, Herbie Hancock and many, many more.

He got his start as a teenager in his native Jamaica playing in various outfits, alongside bassist Robbie Shakespeare, that backed some of reggae’s breakout stars of the 70s, including Bunny Lee, Peter Tosh and Lee Perry, for whom he played on Junior Murvin’s ‘Police and Thieves’ and Bob Marley’s ‘Punky Reggae Party’.

Sly and Robbie’s radical rhythm section found a home among rock’n’roll’s more forward-thinking practitioners. They toured with the Stones in 1978 (Dunbar eventually contributing to their 1983 return to form ‘Undercover’ album) and were influential upon new wave acts like Talking Heads and Ian Dury.

This musical dexterity was apparent when Island’s founder Chris Blackwell came to assemble a house band for his Compass Point Studios in Nassau, the Bahamas. With Sly and Robbie as the band’s (which came to be referred to as the Compass Point All Stars) heartbeat and flanked by their compatriots Mikey Chung and Sticky Thompson, British guitarist Barry Reynolds and a young French synth wizard by the name of Wally Badarou, the ensemble embarked on a remarkable run of success.

Grace Jones’ creative rebirth across her ‘Warm Leatherette’, ‘Nightclubbing’ and ‘Living My Life’ albums was arguably the All Stars’ high point, but the likes of Black Uhuru, Joe Cocker, Mick Jagger, Serge Gainsbourg and Tom Tom Club all benefitted from their rhythmical alchemy.

Speaking to Badarou in 2024 about his time at Compass Point, he told me: “Whenever we were rocking with Sly & Robbie, he [Blackwell] had that body language and we knew that we were cooking something. It was so uplifting. There were no words.” Indeed Blackwell told him: “‘Wally, I believe I have the best band in the world with you guys.’ He was genuine. He was serious.”

Sly and Robbie’s dancefloor friendly sounds continued to find new audiences as the years passed by. Their classic ‘Boops (Here To Go)’ was a favourite of The Chemical Brothers (then The Dust Brothers) at the raucous Heavenly Sunday Social. Dunbar would also play drums on The Fugees’ ‘The Score’, produce No Doubt, back Sinead O’Connor and, incredibly, feature within a Madonna remix for her deep cut track ‘Supernatural’.

That everyone from David Rodigan to Questlove and Terry Farley have paid tribute to Sly demonstrates the esteem in which he was held. His beat will always go on.

‍