Duke Vin, first UK sound system operator

‘Duke Vin’, or Vincent George Forbes (1928-2012), was the first to introduce a Jamaican-style sound system to Britain in 1955. As a boy in Kingston, Vincent Forbes had acted as a record selector and when he came to England as a stowaway in 1954 he brought his DJ skills with him. Upon arrival in Britain he purchased a speaker and amplifier to set up a basic sound system and soon he found himself regularly playing Jamaican reggae at Saturday night house parties. Duke Vin became a legend in Ladbroke Grove and had a huge influence on the popularisation of reggae and ska in Britain, playing his tunes at venues like Soho’s Flaming Club, Gaz Mayall’s Gaz’s Rockin Blues Sound, and the original Marquee Club. He was also a regular at Notting Hill Carnival where he performed with his system ‘Duke Vin the Tickler’s’ for 37 years.

This photograph of Duke Vin at the age of 74 was taken by Charlie Phillips in 2002. Phillips came to Britain as a young boy around the same time as Duke Vin and both lived in North Kensington where they formed part of the same tight-knit network of West-Indian migrants. This portrait of Duke Vin testifies to the life-long connections made between Windrush migrants in London, but also highlights two exceptional figures who developed prominent positions in their communities and built successful creative careers at a time when London’s racial landscape was undergoing major changes.