Career
He was the first white recording artist to have a reggae hit in Jamaica, and the British Broadcasting Corporation has banned more of his songs than any other recording artist due to his frequent use of sexual innuendo and double entendres. Hughes was introduced to Jamaican music when he lodged as a teenager in a West Indian household in Brixton, South West London. He met Jamaican artists Derrick Morgan and Prince Buster through his job as a bouncer at London nightclubs such as the Ram Jam in Brixton, and through another job as a bodyguard.
After working as a professional wrestler (under the name "The Masked Executioner") and as a debt collector for Trojan Records, he worked as a DJ on local radio.
When Prince Buster had a big underground hit in 1969 with "Big 5", Hughes capitalized on it with the recording of his own "Big Six", based on Verne & Son"s "Little Boy Blue", which was picked up by Trojan boss Lee Gopthal, and released on Trojan"s "Big Shot" record label under the stage name Judge Dread, the name taken from another of Prince Buster"s songs. "Big Six" reached Number.
11 in the United Kingdom Chart in 1972, selling over 300,000 copies and spending six months on the chart, despite getting no radio airplay due to its lyrics. Further hit singles followed with "Big Seven" (co-written by Rupie Edwards) and "Big Eight" – both following the pattern of lewd versions of nursery rhymes over a reggae backing – as well as "Y Viva Suspenders" and "Up with the Cock".
He was the first white recording artist to have a reggae hit in Jamaica, leading him to travel to Jamaica to perform live, where many were surprised that he was white.
Dread had 11 United Kingdom chart hits in the 1970s, which was more than any other reggae artist (including Bob Marley). The Guinness Book of World Records credited Judge Dread for having the highest number (eleven) of banned songs of all time. Several of his songs mentioned Snodland, the small town in Kent where Judge Dread lived.
There is a road in the town of Snodland named after him, the Alex Hughes Close.
Dread helped organize a benefit concert featuring The Wailers and Desmond Dekker and released a benefit single titled "Molly". Despite its lack of innuendo in the lyrics, The track was still banned from radio airplay, and failed to chart.
Recordings Dread issued under the pseudonyms Juris Doctor Alex and Jason Sinclair were banned by the British Broadcasting Corporation. Judge Dread died from a heart attack as he walked off stage after performing at The Penny Theatre in Canterbury on 13 March 1998.