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UK Cup Clash 2005 - Stratford Rex - London - April 16, 2005

There is no tougher defeat in battle than when the general makes a silly error. On Saturday night a 'gatling tongue' that fired one expletive too many cost dancehall veterans Bass Odyssey the UK Cup Clash trophy.

Head selector Squingy treated an oversold Stratford Rex audience to a classic display of 'soundbwoy' killing before faltering in the non-expletive segment which led to his disqualification and victory for the Japanese champions Mighty Crown.

Bass Odyssey looked a clear winner after three rounds and only needed to remain in contention to lift the coveted cup. But, with victory in sight, an over exuberant Squingy suffered a lapse in concentration and did the unforgivable.

The organisers had made it clear that no profanity would have been allowed during the segment when the sounds had to restrict their selections to only commercial releases. Before even playing a selection Squingy declared "Everything @$%^&&^ thing inside yah dead tonight!"

This forced the intervention of the fearsome referee Ninjaman, who in trademark style, yanked the microphone from the lanky selector and ejected him. A forlorn Squingy was at a loss for words as he stood and hung his head in disbelief.

He had done superbly to eliminate Tony Matterhorn and Pink Panther of Black Kat in that order, and began talking about the space he had reserved at his St. Ann base for the sparkling silverware. He begged for a second chance but Ninjaman would have none of it. The Don Gorgon distinguished himself as a firm and fair dispenser of justice.

Having seen more than his fair share of courtroom proceedings over time, he kept things under tight control and was swift and decisive. He was an added element to the entertainment, appearing in a Samurai outfit and introducing himself as 'crazy frog', the animated character of ring tone fame.

Deserved winners

No one can deny that the Far East rulers Mighty Crown are deserved winners, given their contributions and performances over the years. But, they too had setbacks, as in the final round Sammy T refused to participate further, claiming there was bias from the MC Robbo Ranks towards Birmingham-based Immortal.

The MC seemed to have made the wrong call on a number of occasions, declaring Immortal the winner of rounds that were clearly won by Mighty Crown based on crowd response. After some goading they agreed to resume and swiftly disposed of Immortal 6:1 in the 'ten-song-each' final segment.

Expensive dubs

Mighty Crown played some expensive international dubs from the likes of Ja Rule, Akon and Estelle. And, when it mattered, they stuck to basics scoring effectively with classic Beres Hammond selections. Always the outsiders in these competitions, the Japanese employed a clever tactic of targeting Tony Matterhorn and Black Kat early on.

Matterhorn played second in the running order after New York outfit Young Hawk, who failed to make an impression. Matterhorn set the tempo which his rivals measured up to in the early rounds. However, he lacked consistency in his selections and paid the price. Pink Panther the defending champion approached the task with confidence having built up a huge fan base following his decisive win last year. But by the third round the crown was being asked to decide which of the two should be eliminated. Matterhorn took the early blow but Panther followed in short order. Italian giants One Love were also early casualties, despite their vast arsenal.

Japanese/UK final

This left Mighty Crown, Immortal, and Bass Odyssey in the running, but Squingy's gaffe ensured it was a Japanese/UK final. Immortal was a revelation. Travelling with some eight busses of supporters, they came to London with a purpose; not necessarily to win, but to be recognised. And all in attendance took notice. They distinguished themselves in the vocal-only round, blowing away the field for a place in the penultimate round. They whittled away under the awesome force of Mighty Crown in the final, but promised much.

On a cool night in London, Jamaicans turned out in massive numbers to witness one of the most exciting events on the UK-Jamaican entertainment calendar. The police were out in numbers keeping a watchful eye on proceedings but the event went over incident-free. The next event in the series will be held in the United States.