Veteran dancehall producer, Barry O’Hare, who produced hits for the likes of Sean Paul and Shaggy, is dead.
The tragic events surrounding this tumultuous year are showing no clear signs of slowing down, with yet another death of a prominent member of the entertainment fraternity. Longstanding musician, producer, and engineer Barry O’Hare reportedly succumbed to complications this morning as a result of complications brought on by the deadly COVID-19.
Reports are that the 56-year-old died at the University Hospital of the West Indies in Kingston after he was admitted last Thursday, following a positive COVID-19 test. A lifetime friend of O’Hare, stage technician Jeffrey Brown, confirmed the death while speaking with The Jamaican Observer. “He died this morning. I’m not sure of the exact time,” he said while outlining that O’Hare had an underlying medical condition that may have led to his untimely passing. Brown said, “He had an underlying sickness otherwise from that. Mi vex bad. He is one of the best things ever on the face of the earth.”
The highly contagious strain of coronavirus has already infected over 30,000,000 people worldwide and claimed over 900,000 deaths. According to Worldometer, Jamaica has recorded over 4500 cases with 60 deaths, including legendary reggae singer Toots Hibbert approximately a week ago.
Barry O’Hare was much revered in the entertainment industry for his work, both in-studio as well as mega stage show productions. He has worked with many of Jamaica’s greatest entertainers including, Tanya Stephens, Diana King, Yami Bolo, Jack Radics, Prezident Brown, Mikey Spice, Morgan Heritage, Shaggy, Sean Paul, Beres Hammond, Third World, Burning Spear, among others.
Shaggy tribute Barry O’Hare in a post on Instagram calling him a lifelong friend. “Woke up today to some sad news,” Shaggy wrote. “Lost our dear brother @barry_ohare_jamaica. Barry was my engineer’ and a great guy, he was instrumental in helping to establish shaggy and friends especially on the technical side and engineered a lot of the shows , we toured together for years , he made us sound great night after nights. Thank you for your friendship your talent and love! Rest well my brother R.I.P. condolences to his family. Ps. F@#k 2020!”
