Together with his backing group the Aces (consisting of Wilson James and Easton Barrington Howard), he had one of the earliest international reggae hits with "Israelites" (1968).

Desmond Adolphus Dacres was born in Saint Andrew Parish (Greater Kingston), Jamaica, on 16 July 1941.

Meanwhile, Dekker spotted the talent of Bob Marley, a fellow welder, and brought the youth to Kong's attention.

In 1962 "Judge Not" and "One Cup Of Coffee" became the first recorded efforts of Marley, who retained gratitude, respect and admiration for Dekker for the rest of his life.

His fourth hit, "King of Ska" (backing vocals by The Cherrypies, also known as the Maytals), made him into one of the island's biggest stars.

The song established Dekker as a rude boy icon in Jamaica and also became a favourite dance track for the young working-class men and women of the United Kingdom's mod scene.

[3] Dekker continued to release rude boy songs such as "Rude Boy Train" and "Rudie Got Soul", as well as mainstream cultural songs like "It's a Shame", "Wise Man", "Hey Grandma", "Unity", "If It Pays", "Mother's Young Girl", "Sabotage" and "Pretty Africa".

That same year saw the release of "Beautiful and Dangerous", "Writing on the Wall", "Music Like Dirt (Intensified '68)" (which won the 1968 Jamaica Independence Festival Song Contest), "Bongo Girl" and "Shing a Ling".

[3] In 1972 the rude boy film The Harder They Come was released and Dekker's "007 (Shanty Town)" was featured on the soundtrack along with Cliff's version of "You Can Get It If You Really Want", as well as other Jamaican artists' hits, giving reggae more international exposure and preparing the way for Bob Marley.

[8] A re-recorded version of "Israelites" was released in 1980 on the Stiff label, followed by other new recordings: Jimmy Cliff's "Many Rivers to Cross" and "Book of Rules".

In 1990 "Israelites" was used in a Maxell TV advert that became popular and brought the song and artist back to the attention of the general public.

[13][14] Dekker died of a heart attack on 25 May 2006, at his home in Thornton Heath in the London Borough of Croydon, England, aged 64[3] and was buried at Streatham Park Cemetery.