b. Errol Archer, 1956, St. Catherine, Jamaica, West Indies, d. 1982. Scorcher began his career as a DJ in the early 70s performing for a number of sound systems, where he cultivated his unique style. Although his debut, ‘Leggo Mi Hand’, was a crowd-pleaser in the dancehall, it failed to achieve chart success. This initial disappointment did not deter the DJ, and his perseverance came to fruition when he released a series of hits through the mid-70s, including the popular ‘Jolly Bus-Ting’ and ‘Engineers Affair’. His notoriety was enhanced further when in 1978 he recorded the celebratory ‘Peace Truce’, utilizing Culture’s ‘Stop This Fussing And Fighting’. The song extolled the signing of an armistice between rival factions in Western Kingston on 11 January 1978; the treaty led to the acclaimed One Love Peace Concert in Jamaica, which featured the legendary return of Bob Marley to the Jamaican stage. In the same year, Scorcher joined the Tapetone sound system, widely acknowledged as King Jammy’s first dancehall venture. The combination of Scorcher alongside Nicodemus, Kojak And Liza promoted the system to a position as the island’s number one sound. In 1979 Scorcher released the popular ‘Roach In The Corner’, which led to the similar ‘Frog In The Water’. By 1980 Scorcher embarked on a series of recording sessions with Ansell Collins, resulting in the renowned ‘Mosquitoes’, which described the DJ’s love-hate relationship with Jamaican insect-life. The hit led to Scorcher forming his own label for the releases of ‘Rope In’ and ‘DJ Spirit’, as well as Tony Tuff’s ‘Hustling’. By 1982 Scorcher was regarded as a veteran, although he had hits with ‘Rude Boy Step’ and ‘Letting Go’, and also featured on the Dee Jay Explosion compilation, performing ‘Wife And Sweetheart’ (originally recorded over the ‘Johnny Dollar’ rhythm by Winston Riley). The same year, in an attempt to arrest a suspected criminal, an over zealous group of law enforcers shot eight men, fatally wounding the DJ. He is widely acknowledged by his Jamaican counterparts as being an influential performer, contradicting unfounded accusations that he was ‘an infamous plagiarist’.