Few artistes in Jamaican music history boast a body of work as revered and influential as Johnny Osbourne.
In a career spanning almost six decades, Johnny Osbourne has earned himself the title Dancehall Godfather, bestowed upon him by generations of musicologists and fans alike.
Now in 2025, some of Johnny’s most evergreen songs have been re-imagined thanks to Frenchie, the top-ranking producer and Maximum Sound label owner who has assembled a team of world-class Jamaican musicians, including saxophonist Dean Fraser and mixing engineer Gregory Morris, to reinterpret these celebrated anthems.
The resulting album, Universal Love Showcase, which features visionary artistes such as Tarrus Riley, Anthony B, Macka B, Alborosie, and Aza Lineage, will be released digitally on August 29, 2025 on VP Records.
We Need Love, the album opener, is an update on Johnny Osbourne’s 1979 Studio One classic Truth & Rights.
Reflecting on his years with Greensleeves Records and famed producer Henry “Junjo” Lawes, Johnny Osbourne’s hit songs from the mid 80s Ice Cream Love Give A Little Love, No Lollipop No Sweet So and Never Stop Fighting are re-crafted for a new generation with featured vocals from an all-star line-up of Alborosie (Don’t Need No Ice Cream Love), Anthony B (Give More Love), Aza Lineage (Sweet So), and Macka B (Cease Fire).
Universal Love Showcase revives a format not often offered on modern albums, a very Jamaican invention — the showcase — a concept in which each vocal track also has a corresponding dub included on the album. These stripped-back remixes, the original Jamaican drum and bass pioneered by Dubmasters such as King Tubby and Lee “Scratch” Perry, when presented in this showcase style is by far the best way to listen to dub, as you can hear how the engineer has broken the track down, distilling it down to its purest form.
Carrying the torch for contemporary Jamaican dub is engineer Gregory Morris, whose previous work includes stellar dubs for Chronixx, Protoje, Beres Hammond, Lila Ike, and many more. On Universal Love Showcase, Morris dubs these reworkings of Johnny Osbourne’s classic recordings into outer space.
Alpha Boys’ School alum Johnny Osbourne debuted with the classic All I Have Is Love at Studio One, following up with the sensational Come Back Darling for Winston Riley’s Techniques imprint in the late 60s. Shortly after Johnny relocated to Canada to join his family.
Upon his return to Jamaica in 1979, Johnny reunited with Sir Coxsone Dodd at Studio One to record a run of essential tunes.
