SONG This song was released in 1963. It deals with Rude boys who are brought to court for trial. This could be terrifying but not for them... actually, they say that they don't fear anything at all. 'Rude Boys' are common terms used in Jamaica to talk about young criminals. Later on, fans of ska music would be nicknamed 'rude boys' as well. Nowadays, it refers to young people who are involved in street culture, it's similar to 'gangsta'.
SINGER
Derrick Morgan was a Jamaican singer who was born in Jamaica in 1940 but moved to the UK quite young. Derrick Morgan is still one of the kings of ska music nowadays.Rude Boys Don't Fear became a national sucess in Jamaica. It was a mixture of Ska, reggae and rocksteady music. Actually, Derrick Morgan is known as one of the most famous legends of Ska. Indeed, he was friends with Desmond Dekker, Bob Marley and Jimmy Cliff among others.
One cannot talk about Rude Boys without mentionning their dress code and hairstyle... which are dated nowadays we must confess !
These kinds of people were the ones who went to sound system shows. They wore suits and pork-pie hats to imitiate the rich. They were basically the gangsters of that time ! Have a look at this picture to get a glimpse of their style !
TIMES
As you may remember, the song itself dealt with bad boys who were out of law, following their own ways.Indeed, don't forget that at time : Jamaica had recently become independant from the UK (1958) and would attain full independance from the UK in 1962. Therefore the lyrics of some songs of this trend dealt with rebellion and violence.
