Dave Kelly
Dave Kelly is a Jamaican record producer and the brother of record producer Tony "CD" Kelly. He began his career as an engineer in the late 1980s. After getting into producing at the Penthouse label of Donovan Germain, he started his own label, Madhouse, together with business partner Janet Davidson in 1991. He went on to become one of the most successful dancehall reggae producers in Jamaica, recording numerous songs that topped the local and international reggae charts, such as "Action" by Nadine Sutherland & Terror Fabulous in 1994 and "Look" by Bounty Killer in 1999.
Dave Kelly has released some of the most popular and influential dancehall riddims such as Joy Ride, Showtime, Fiesta, and Eighty-Five. He produced Beenie Man's international hit "Dude" featuring Ms. Thing in 2003 on the Fiesta riddim, which was featured on Beenie Man's album Back to Basics and Baby Cham's major hit "Ghetto Story," on the Eighty-Five riddim, which was the title track of Baby Cham's 2006 album that he also produced. He is also the producer of Buju Banton's 2020 Track "Blessed".
See also
Madhouse Records (Jamaican record label)
References
Listen to Dave Kelly
Watch Dave Kelly on YouTube below. A Spotify catalogue isn't linked for this artist yet.
Know Dave Kelly's Spotify page? Send us the link and we'll add in-page streaming.
Vinyl & Discography — Dave Kelly
Powered by DiscogsDiscography data refreshes on each site build. Browse vinyl and releases for Dave Kelly on Discogs now.
Browse Dave Kelly on Discogs →Live Events — Dave Kelly
Powered by TicketmasterCatch Dave Kelly live — tour dates, festival slots, and sound-system sessions are listed on Ticketmaster.
Find tickets for Dave Kelly →Articles about Dave Kelly
Reggae Sumfest 2022, ‘The Rebirth’: Sold Out in the Rain, With Masicka at Dawn, Beres at 1:47 a.m. and a Dave Kelly Tribute at Sunrise
After a virtual 2020 and no festival in 2021, Reggae Sumfest returned in full to Catherine Hall, Montego Bay, for the week of July 18–23, 2022. A capacity Friday crowd of close to 17,000 rode out lightning and a blackout; Saturday brought Beres Hammond, Koffee, Dexta Daps, a 55-minute Madhouse tribute and Sizzla closing in a downpour at 8:30 a.m.

Cham, Marley perform ‘Fighter’ for BBC 1XTRA
Performing Fighter and Ghetto Story for BBC 1XTRA, Cham and Damian 'Jr. Gong' Marley evoked an uncanny set of the Dave Kelly produced singles.

Bring it Back: Terror Fabulous/ Nadine Sutherland 'Action'
With an eerie vocal resemblance to Buju Banton, Terror Fabulous' early 1990's claim to fame as Dave Kelly's protégé proved to be fruitful; spawning hits including 'Mr. Big Man', 'Gangster Anthem', 'Number Two' and of course the crossover mega hit 'Action'.

Douster explores the sexiness of Dancehall with EP
Douster has been a Dancehall devotee since the golden days of Dave Kelly, dedicating his spare time to crafting riddims that have until now remained unheard.
Support the archive
Keep Jamaican music history free and online.
JamaicansMusic.com has documented artists, riddims and culture since 2008 — independently run by a small team. Ads and sponsors pay the hosting bill; readers keep it alive.
- Get the newsletter New artists and archive additions, occasionally.
- Sponsor or advertise Reach a global reggae & dancehall audience.
- Suggest an artist Know more about Dave Kelly? Help us improve the entry.