Latest Release
- MAR 18, 2024
- 1 Song
- Bandolero · 1991
- Get Close · 1999
- Dancehall's Golden Era, Vol. 12 · 1987
- Agony · 1987
- Get Close · 2000
- Got To Be Me · 1987
- Get Close · 1994
- Got To Be Me · 1987
- Agony · 1987
- King Jammy's: Selector's Choice, Vol. 2 · 2007
Essential Albums
- All things considered, Pinchers wasn’t the biggest name in dancehall, but he was a notable one. Helmed by producer/engineer King Jammy, 1987’s Agony helped bridge the gap between the live-band deejay era and the emerging world of digital dancehall. The sound was leaner, tougher, and cheaper, but sweeter and more melodic, too, filled with singsong choruses and high, birdlike vocal flutters—a naive, almost punky take on lovers rock. Not that Pinchers was a choirboy: If you don’t catch his drift when he says his woman is like a magnet to steel (“Magnet to Steal”), consider the anatomical implications of “Si Down Pon It,” wherein love is compared to a hard, sturdy chair. Then there’s “Agony,” a riff on the Sleng Teng riddim whose quasi-Arabic vocal runs helped forecast the gruff, hypnotic sound of ragga.
Artist Playlists
- Badman lyrics delivered by one of reggae's sweetest voices.
- 2023
- 2023
Compilations
- 2002
- 1988
Appears On
About Pinchers
Delroy Thompson may be named after a pair of pliers, but there's nothing mechanical about his soothing, melodic dancehall singing style. Going against the genre's grain, Pinchers does not chant slackness, but seeks to elevate, educate and entertain, although "Agony," his trademark, walks a fine line between the profane and the profound. ~ Roger Steffens
- HOMETOWN
- Jamaica
- BORN
- April 12, 1965
- GENRE
- Reggae