Roy Shirley goes down on his knees as he wows the audience at the palace Theatre. - file

ROY Shirley, the theatrical singer known as the High Priest of Reggae, has died. An entry on the Trojan Records website said Shirley passed away last week in Britain.

No cause, or date of death, was given.

Shirley was best known for the 1967 hit song, Hold Them, which was produced by a young Joe Gibbs. Several musicologists consider Hold Them to be the first rock steady song.

Although he had other songs of note including I Am The Winner and Heartbreak Gypsy, a cover of soul singer Ben E King's hit.

Hold Them was the Kingston-born Shirley's signature song. Early in his career, he worked with Jimmy Cliff and Ken Boothe, but never matched the chart success of those singers.

Shirley's penchant for drama (wore capes, 'wept' during performances) overshadowed his talent, but reggae historian Roger Steffens said there should be no disputing the mark he made on Jamaican music.

"As an artiste, he was unique and inimitable. He had a voice like a squeezed mango, a stage manner that bordered on the absurd, and a strange offbeat sense of humour that found expression in odd songs like Dance the Auna and Music Field," Steffens told The Gleaner.

Shirley, who was 64, last performed in June at the Sierra Nevada World Music Festival in Boonville, California.

He immigrated to England in 1973, and like many of his contemporaries, developed a cult following in that country. He last performed in Jamaica in 2004 at the Stars 'R' Us show.