Nightmare in Jamaica
By Tommy Kennedy IV

Some names and identifying details have been changed to protect the privacy of individuals.
Acknowledgements
Firstly, I would like to thank Thomas Rees and Anna Carrington for their vision for this book, and Jay Hirano for the inspiration he gave me to actually write anything at all.

I am grateful to Janice Stretton for typing this (turning ramblings into sense) and to Emilie Harper in the early stages.

A huge thank you to my family across the UK and beyond, especially my elder sister Lynn and younger brother Anthony, who shared my formative years.

This autobiography would have remained a pipe dream without the encouragement and financial support of friends in Notting Hill, across the UK, and around the world.

To my late parents: “Let he who has not sinned cast the first stone.”

Special thanks to Rike, who ignited in me a spiritual awareness during a fateful meeting in Thailand in 1999. Those words stayed with me as I left Koh Samui to begin this journey.

To my childhood friends Robert Albert Taylor (The Rat) and Malcolm Lawless (Tank), both deceased: “See you on the other side, muckers.”

Music and Community
Over twenty years, I worked with countless bands, musicians, DJs, and artists. Here are just a few:

NRG-FLY, Steve Dior Band, Pink Cigar, The Electrics, Kult 45s, Dirty Strangers, Stolen Colours, Carnival of Souls, Angie Brown, Killing Joe Band, Freak Elite, Slydigs, Mentona K, Rotten Hill Gang, Whalls, Etchoo Band, Serratone, Taurus Trakker, London Ghost, Alabama 3, Alan Wass (R.I.P.), Ted Key and the Kingstons, Black Swan Event, Healthy Junkies, The SD5, Brady Bunch, Garage Flowers, Santa Semeli and the Monks, Guinea Pigs of Meta Data, Stanlees, The Stage Invaders, My Drug Hell, Anarchist Wood, Slow Faction, Relaxin Doves, The Loves, David Sinclair Four, Prisoners of Mother England, Albie Deluca, Sugar Lady, Big Mackoofy, Anna Pigalle, Nick Farr, Aunty Puss, Raindogs, Paper Rock, Ray Hanson, The Vulz, Dave Renegade, Pistol Head, Chubby Letouche and his Band of Whores, Natural Mystery Museum, Jem and Helenna, Dave and Paolo, Key Mcloud, Alex Pink, Dr Philgood and Naughty Di, Steve Holloway, Rude Boy Ray Gange.

I also want to acknowledge:

The staff at Mau Mau Bar, and the legendary Bullit Hardway, who ran the Sunday Night Reggae for over ten years.

Acklam Village Market on Portobello Road — Dermott, Caroline, Pavell, Gina, and music promoter Chris Sullivan.

Inn on the Green – Dave and Tina.

Portobello Gold – Mike Bell.

Emma Rule from Musicians Against Homelessness.

The organisation Prisoners Abroad, who did so much for me.

Family Dedication
Most importantly, this book is dedicated to my daughter Sophie and her children — Barclay, Theodore, and Penelope — and to my son Tommy Junior V, who gives me the chance to relive childhood in a more satisfactory way.

Survivor’s Note
This is not a pretty story. I am a survivor.

What I lacked in my early years has been repaid tenfold in later life. I have retained my sense of humour and optimism — which may seem incomprehensible given my experiences in jail in Thailand and Jamaica.

I love life. The people I have met along the way — the good, the bad, and the ugly — have made me a better person and enriched me in ways money never could.

Life is short. It will pass you by in the blink of an eye.

My advice? Savour every moment. Appreciate being alive. Get out there and live.

“The people you meet on this journey of life will make it wider – but the people who you part from will make it much deeper.” – Jay Hirano, Japan

Introduction – A Brutally Honest Memoir
This is the first volume of my autobiography, a brutally honest account of the trials and tribulations of my life until the age of forty-three.

For years, I hid my secrets. In 2018 I began writing, and as the words tumbled out, I realised I wasn’t to blame for everything. Still, I had to own the decisions I made and the pain they caused others.

From Lawless Youth to Prison
A dysfunctional childhood in and out of institutions pushed me to search for adventure. I travelled widely, fuelled by rebellion and a desire to escape the monotony of working-class life.

But rebellion quickly spiralled into alcoholism, drug abuse, and crime. Inevitably, karma caught me up in prison sentences in Thailand and Jamaica.

Jamaica was my hell on earth, a place where I confronted my demons. In the General Penitentiary, I began to truly understand myself and the destructive behaviours that had defined me.

London, Music, and Change
On release, I returned to London’s Notting Hill, throwing myself into the music scene. I lived with passion and excitement, but for the first time there was a creative focus.

Did I still make mistakes? Yes.
Did I still live lawlessly? Yes.

But something had shifted inside me. I had begun to transform.

Reflection
I survived when many around me didn’t. Friends and family were extinguished too early. I live with regret, but also with gratitude.

If my story can steer even one life away from destruction, then my experiences won’t have been in vain.

Closing Thought
“With age comes wisdom, but sometimes age comes alone.” – Oscar Wilde

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