BY BRIAN BONITTO—
Associate Editor —
Olivia “Babsy” Grange–
OLIVIA “Babsy” Grange — minister of culture, gender, entertainment and sport — is appealing to members of Jamaica’s entertainment fraternity to follow COVID-19 protocols established by the Government.
Her appeal came after the death of respected audio engineer Barry O’Hare.
O’Hare, 56, died at the University Hospital of the West Indies in St Andrew yesterday morning after testing positive for COVID-19 earlier in the week.
“I’m shocked and very concerned about the number of persons in this industry who are being affected by COVID and who we are losing. I’m making a very special appeal to people in the industry that they must observe the protocols that are established by the Ministry of Health. They must wear the mask. They must keep their distance. They must sanitise on a regular basis. They must be more careful, especially those with underlying health issues,” she told the Jamaica Observer.
O’Hare worked with the who’s who of reggae including Third World, Steel Pulse, and Burning Spear. He was engineer for Spear’s Grammy-winning album Calling Rastafari in 2000.
Also benefiting from his talents were Tanya Stephens, Diana King, Yami Bolo, Jack Radics, Prezident Brown, Mikey Spice and Jahmali.
He worked on sound for film and television projects, including the Disney film Sebastian and the ABC series Going to Extremes, which was shot on location in Jamaica. On the road, O’Hare was engineer for Shaggy for 10 years; he also worked in that capacity for Sean Paul and Beres Hammond.
“He worked closely with Ringo Starr’s son, Zak Starkey, in the production of a number of our pioneer performers, including Toots [Hibbert],” said Grange.
Hibbert — an icon of Jamaica’s reggae and frontman of Toots and the Maytals — passed away in the University Hospital of the West on September 11. He was transferred to the medical facility due to respiratory challenges brought on by COVID-19. He was 77.
O’Hare worked mainly out of the Grove studios in Ocho Rios. In a February 2018 interview with the Jamaica Observer, he pointed to Calling Rastafari as his finest work
“I guess it’s because I did everything on that project — from recording to mixing and free mastering. That was really a great project. But there were so many before and even more since then and I am continuing to do what I love,” he said.
At the time, O’Hare was recognized by the Jamaica Reggae Industry Association (JaRIA) for his contribution to the growth and development of reggae.
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