King Horror Dracula Prince Of Darkness / Ghost Hour - HSRSS-0036
- Record label: Harlem Shuffle Records - Format: 7" vinyl 45 RPM - on presale - release on September 26, 2025
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€12.50
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INTRODUCING TWO SUPER RARE HORROR REGGAE KILLERS
KING HORROR
“DRACULA PRINCE OF DARKNESS”
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“GHOST HOUR”
7" VINYL 45 RPM
ON PRESALE ONLY - RELEASE SEPTEMBER 26, 2025
Catalogue number: HSRSS-0036
RELEASE INFORMATION:
Format: black 7" vinyl - 45 RPM – Stereo
Label: Harlem Shuffle Records
Sleeve: Black paper cover with round cut-outs on both sides
This exceptional release feature both the first and the last track in the highly collectable King Horror series.
Released in 1969, DRACULA PRINCE OF DARKNESS was the very first title in the King Horror series. It is widely believed the performer on the track is Laurel Aitken. Incredibly this Boss Reggae killer has never been reissued until now...
GHOST HOUR was the last in the King Horror series and was only released as a B side on a white label that never got released in 1970 on the REGGAE label. This is therefore the first official release of GHOST HOUR.
Both tracks are very rare now…
ABOUT KING HORROR
Lord Davey aka Evral Davey, Baldhead Growler, Young Growler and most famously King Horror was initially a Calypso artist who recorded a few singles on a variety of Calypso labels including the Jump Up label in the 1960s.
As King Horror, he would have recorded eight mythical and highly collectible singles between 1969 and 1970, all of them of the horror Reggae genre and most of them produced by Laurel Aitken, although DRACULA PRINCE OF DARKNESS was produced by Joe Mansano. Davey was not really singing on these singles, he was mostly toasting or more specifically "growling" and these singles all pretty much sound like a B horror movie soundtrack with a Boss Reggae background: Dracula Prince Of Darkness, Cutting Blade, Vampire, Frankenstein, Wood In The Fire, Loch Ness Monster, Slave Driver and last but not least, Ghost Hour.
Confusingly, it appears that there is a different voice on some of these singles, for instance on our Dracula Prince Of Darkness. The mystery singer or rather "growler" is believed to be Laurel Aitken himself sometimes standing in for Lord Davey. Unless it was the other way around and it was Lord Davey who was standing in for Laurel Aitken…
ABOUT LAUREL AITKEN
The legendary Laurel Aitken was born Lorenzo Aitken in Havana, Cuba in 1927 and moved to Jamaica in 1938, where he became a pioneer of Jamaican music, recording Calypso tracks as early as 1957. Known as the "Godfather of Ska," he blended mento, calypso, and rhythm & blues into Ska and was pivotal into shaping the genre in its earliest days. His first major hit was “Boogie in My Bones” / “Little Sheila” in 1958—one of the first Jamaican records released in the UK. In the 1960s, he moved to Brixton, London, and became a favorite among mods and skinheads. He recorded hundreds of singles with iconic labels like Blue Beat, Trojan, and Pama Records and produced many Jamaican artists such as King Horror. He also recorded under the same alias releasing horror Reggae tracks like “Dracula, Prince of Darkness.”
He got his first-ever UK chart single in 1980 with ‘Rudy Got Married’ during the ska revival of the and continued performing into the 2000s, influencing generations of Ska and Reggae artists. Laurel Aitken passed away in 2005 in Leicester, England, leaving behind an enormous musical legacy.
Today Laurel Aitken remains immensely popular around the world for his humour, social commentaries and irresistible grooves...
A SIDE:
Title: Dracula Prince Of Darkness
Artist: King Horror (Laurel Aitken)
Genre: Boss Reggae/Horror Reggae
Produced by: Joe Mansano
Year of release: 1969 on Duke (featuring the blue JOE label)
Initially "Dracula Prince Of Darkness" was a cult 1966 horror movie starring Cristopher Lee.
Released in 1969, our DRACULA PRINCE OF DARKNESS was produced by Joe Mansano on the Duke label DU034 (but featuring the blue JOE label) with the great instrumental HONKY by the Joe's All Stars on the flip. It was the very first title in the King Horror series and one of the very best tracks with LOCH NESS MONSTER. It is widely believed that it is Laurel Aitken who is performing on the track!
DRACULA is a fabulous cornerstone of the horror Reggae genre and we are delighted to release it today with the equally great GHOST HOUR as its B side.
Incredibly this Boss Reggae killer has never been reissued until now... The original release is extremely rare and in very high demand.
B SIDE:
Title: Ghost Hour
Artist: King Horror (Lord Davey)
Genre: Boss Reggae/Horror Reggae
Produced by: Laurel Aitken
Year of release: 1970 as a white label.
This release is the very first official release of GHOST HOUR. This irresistible track was the last in the King Horror series and was only released as a B side on a white label that never got released in 1970 on the REGGAE label. REGGAE was a subsidiary of U.K. label Doctor Bird and only released around ten singles between 1969 and 1970, all highly collectibles including tracks by King Horror, The Message, Pama Dice and the Skinhead Reggae instrumental classic "Tea House" by The Opening.
GHOST HOUR is not the most famous KING HORROR's track but it is the rarest and is really in our humble opinion one of King Horror very best tracks and a fantastic companion of the Prince of Darkness on the flip...