The late production genius\u2019s chaotic reputation has always preceded him. But could two new books, a posthumous album and a flurry of classic reissues change all that \u2013 and put the focus back on his music?<\/p>\n
David Katz\u2019s introduction to the\u00a0world of Lee \u201cScratch\u201d Perry was bewildering. The Jamaican producer had\u00a0been living in London for several years, and Katz, a Jewish reggae historian who had fallen in love with the music as a teenager in San Francisco, had moved to the UK capital in 1987 and wanted to interview the notoriously evasive artist.<\/p>\n
Katz tracked him down to a recording studio in Rotherhithe, just over the river in south London. Perry welcomed him before insisting he present him with \u201c13 stones from your country\u201d with no further explanation. When Katz informed him he could hardly just pop back to the west coast, Perry told him to \u201cgo down to the River Thames and get me 13 stones!\u201d.<\/p>\n
![](\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/a45dcf929e700f5f04e22801baaddbb4ab62eb33\/642_65_3759_3009\/master\/3759.jpg?width=140&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=ad72719053d82291378a35ac2555f7fb\" "\\"Initiation")
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