West Indies Records Limited

West Indies Records Limited (WIRL) was a recording studio in Jamaica. It was established by Edward Seaga. As he pursued his political career, he sold it to Byron Lee who renamed it Dynamic Sounds and expanded it with a pressing plant to produce records. The studio was located on Bell Road. Seaga later became Prime Minister of Jamaica.

The studio opened in 1958. Seaga recruited from Vere John's talent show.[1] WIRL had the franchise for Columbia Records in Jamaica.[2]

WIRL recorded artists such as Higgs and Wilson and Byron Lee & the Dragonaires.[3] Byron Lee and the Dragonaires recorded their debut single "Dumplin's" in 1959 at WIRL. Higgs and Wilson's track "Oh Manny Oh" sold more than 50,000 copies in Jamaica in 1960.[4]

Trojan Records handled the studios albums abroad and released compilations of the studios recordings.[5]

WIRL also established a Barbadian division. In Jamaica, Dyanmic released records from Toots & the Maytals, Eric Donaldson, John Holt, Barry Biggs, Freddie McKay, Tommy McCook, and Max Romeo on various imprints including Jaguar, Panther, Afrik, and Dragon.

References
  1. Stolzoff, Norman C. (2000). Wake the Town & Tell the People: Dancehall Culture in Jamaica. ISBN 0822325144.
  2. "Kenneth Khouri (1917 – 2003) | the National Library of Jamaica".
  3. "Edward Seaga | Biography & History".
  4. Walters, Basil (2012) "Roy Wilson is dead: Pioneer singer dies in Florida", Jamaica Observer, 31 May 2012. Retrieved 1 June 2012
  5. Koningh, Michael de; Cane-Honeysett, Laurence (2018-07-19). Young, Gifted & Black: The Story of Trojan Records. ISBN 9781787591042.
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