WRITING JOURNEY
I nearly lost everything in Jamaica — smuggling drugs, running from danger, and facing the consequences of my choices. Nightmare in Jamaica is my memoir, the story of survival when paradise turns violent and life teaches lessons no classroom could. I write about chaos, risk, and the moments that change you forever. These are true stories of survival, grit, and what it takes to come back alive.
Nightmare in Jamaica: The Survival Story Behind Tommy Kennedy’s First Book
By David Morgan, Warrington Guardian, 9 November 2019
Original source: Warrington Guardian – “Tommy Kennedy releases his first book, Nightmare in Jamaica.”
It took a near-death experience for Tommy Kennedy to finally sit down and write the story he’d been carrying for years.
The former Beamont Technical School student from Liverpool Road, Warrington, had already lived through a whirlwind of class A drugs, crime, and a prison sentence inside Jamaica’s General Penitentiary, one of the most violent jails in the Caribbean.
But it was a fire at his London flat that changed everything.
As the Warrington Guardian reported:
“Two years ago, Tommy left an electric heater on as he slept. It fell over with devastating consequences – destroying his property and leaving him in hospital for five days for treatment for smoke inhalation.”
“I lost everything,” said Tommy. “It made me think about this story which I’ve been talking about for years and years. It gave me the spur to do it. I just thought: ‘If I don’t write it now, I’m never going to write it’. So I just got stuck into it.”
(Warrington Guardian, 2019)
The result was Nightmare in Jamaica, a brutally honest memoir that traces Kennedy’s early years of crime in Warrington, his time behind bars in Kingston, and the long road back to redemption.
A Life of Crime and Survival
As Tommy told The Guardian:
“In the 70s, when I was a kid, I was never out of trouble. Until I was 22, I was being locked up continually and I thought: ‘If I don’t get out of Warrington, I’m going to end up doing a life sentence here,’ so that’s when I left.”
He was sent to Borstal for police assault, and later got involved in burglaries and club break-ins. The lack of discipline at home, he said, fuelled the chaos.
Even after moving away, that life shadowed him. He drifted through bricklaying, music promotion, and party organising, before it all caught up with him in Jamaica – a sentence for drug smuggling that almost cost him his life.
“It was a living nightmare,” he recalled. “The prison had the highest murder rate in the Caribbean. It was full of high-profile lifers… I was there for three years but it felt like 300.”
Among the inmates was Dennis Lobban, known as Leppo, the man who murdered reggae legend Peter Tosh.
Tommy survived by joining the prison band, The Bloom of Light, playing percussion alongside lifers and killers alike.
“It was an interesting experience to say the least,” he said. “But it helped me get through the sentence.”
(Warrington Guardian, 2019)
Finding Redemption and Music
When he finally returned to England aged 43, Tommy “literally kissed the ground.”
He went straight back into music, managing artists and running Mau Mau Bar in Notting Hill, London.
“I worked for a company called Stage Miracles as well, so I got to meet a lot of high-profile people like Madonna,” he said.
Back in Warrington, he discovered local talent like Slydigs, managing them before they were picked up by The Who’s management.
“It was nice to manage a band from my hometown,” he said. “Warrington bands often get overlooked, but there’s a lot of talent here. I think something good is going to happen with The Ks.”
(Warrington Guardian, 2019)
A Lucky Unluckiness
Kennedy’s release of Nightmare in Jamaica came just as he faced another brush with fate – a triple heart bypass the day after the book’s publication.
“I ended up in hospital the day after the book came out,” he said. “I’m good now. I’m up and about, on my bike, doing long walks. I’m lucky in my unluckiness. I see the funny side of life. Life is an adventure and that’s the way I look at it.”
Legacy and Future Work
Tommy is working on the follow-up – the story of how he rebuilt his life and turned from convict to creator.
“Nightmare in Jamaica is the first and darkest book in a planned series of memoirs,” wrote The Warrington Guardian. “It chronicles Tommy’s life of crime in Warrington, even from a very young age, and how he ended up in prison in Jamaica for drug smuggling.”
Citation:
Morgan, David. “Tommy Kennedy releases his first book, Nightmare in Jamaica.” Warrington Guardian, 9 November 2019. Newsquest Media Group Ltd.
The Murder of Peter Tosh: A Tragic End to a Reggae Legend
Peter Tosh, born Winston Hubert McIntosh on October 19, 1944, was a pioneering Jamaican reggae musician, co-founder of The Wailers alongside Bob Marley and Bunny Wailer, and a fierce advocate for Rastafarianism, human rights, and the legalization of marijuana. Known as the "Stepping Razor" for his sharp lyrics and unapologetic activism, Tosh left The Wailers in 1976 to pursue a solo career, releasing influential albums like Legalize It (1976) and Equal Rights (1977). His outspoken criticism of oppression, including South African apartheid and Jamaican social injustices, made him a global icon of resistance.
On the night of September 11, 1987, Tosh, aged 42, was brutally murdered in a home invasion robbery at his residence on Barbican Road in Kingston’s St. Andrew suburb, Jamaica. The attack occurred around 8:30 PM, shortly after Tosh had returned from a trip to the United States, where he had been promoting his music and planning a career revival.
The Events of the Night
Three armed gunmen arrived at Tosh’s home on motorcycles, demanding money under the false belief that he carried a large sum of cash from his recent travels. Tosh, who was hosting a small gathering, refused to comply immediately, offering to visit the bank the following Monday. The intruders held several people hostage, including Tosh’s common-law wife, Marlene “Andrea” Brown; musician Wilton “Free I” Brown; broadcaster Jeff “Free I” Dixon (a visitor from Atlanta); disk jockey Michael Robinson; and houseguest Claude Clarke.
The gunmen lined the hostages in a semi-circle, subjected Tosh to prolonged torture and beatings to coerce him into revealing hidden funds, and ignored his pleas for mercy. In a final act of rage, they opened fire on the group. Peter Tosh was shot multiple times, including fatal wounds to the head and back, and died at the scene. Wilton Brown and Jeff Dixon were also killed instantly. Marlene Brown was shot in the head but miraculously survived, as did the other two hostages. The assailants fled after the shooting, leaving behind a scene of chaos and betrayal.
The Perpetrators and Motive
The ringleader was Dennis “Leppo” Lobban, a local dub poet and former acquaintance of Tosh. Lobban had recently been released from prison and had approached Tosh for financial help and employment, which Tosh provided out of compassion, lending him money and attempting to assist his rehabilitation. Accomplices included Steve Russell, a taxi driver who transported the gunmen to the scene and later confessed to police, and at least one other unidentified individual.
While the primary motive appeared to be robbery, the personal connection added a layer of irony and tragedy: Tosh had tried to uplift Lobban, only to be killed by him. Some theories suggest deeper motives tied to Tosh’s radical politics or potential threats from powerful interests opposed to his activism, but investigations concluded it was a botched extortion attempt fueled by greed.
Investigation, Trial, and Conviction
Jamaican authorities, led by Detective Senior Superintendent Isadore “Dick” Hibbert, swiftly arrested Lobban days later, thanks to Russell’s confession and survivor testimonies, particularly Marlene Brown’s identification of Lobban as the shooter. During the assault, Lobban had even spared Marlene’s life at one point, ordering his accomplices to leave her after noticing she was still breathing.
Lobban’s trial began in April 1988 in Kingston’s Supreme Court. He claimed an alibi and accused witnesses of fabricating evidence out of vendettas, but the prosecution presented overwhelming evidence, including ballistic matches and eyewitness accounts. On June 13, 1988, Justice Carl Patterson found Lobban guilty on three counts of murder and sentenced him to life imprisonment, joining 188 others on death row at the time, though Jamaica has not executed anyone since 1988. Lobban’s appeal was rejected in 1990, upholding the conviction.
Aftermath and Legacy
The murder shocked the reggae world and drew international condolences, including from Jamaican Prime Minister Edward Seaga. Tosh’s death at the peak of a potential comeback, amid plans for anti-apartheid tours and new music, left a void in the genre’s radical voice. His family faced ongoing hardships; for instance, son Jawara McIntosh was critically injured in a 2017 prison attack while serving time for marijuana possession, echoing Tosh’s own advocacy.
Today, Tosh’s influence endures through his music, the Peter Tosh Museum in Kingston, and cultural nods like the “Man in Business Suit Levitating” emoji, inspired by his iconic album cover art. His story remains a stark reminder of the perils faced by outspoken artists in volatile environments, blending triumph with profound tragedy.