Scratch music! - Lee Perry may trade in singing for comics

Legendary producer and singer Lee 'Scratch' Perry says he may be done with music. In an exclusive interview with Metro.co.uk, the 82-year-old Grammy-winning artiste said he is thinking of calling it quits with music and is thinking about writing comic books. In the interview, Perry expressed the need to reinvent himself and dubbed music as too stressful.

"Instead of making music, I want to make a comic. I want to make a change. I want to make a change from reggae music to make comics. Reggae music has too much stress. It's the sensible thing to do," he said.

If the comic books materialise, Perry revealed that they would focus on a world where there is no pain and suffering. "There will be no poverty in my comic book or no stress. The Emperor Perry White comic book. There'll be no ragamuffin, or raggapuffin, or raggatuffin, no raggabuffin ... . I will find a cure for poverty, I will find a cure for stress. Comic economic, comic economic, comic economic," he is quoted as saying.

Quite the animated character himself, Perry has always expressed an interest in comics, but this is the first time the singer has revealed an interest so deep that he's willing to call it quits on his music career for one as a comic creator.

Perry won the Grammy for Best Reggae Album in 2003 with Jamaican E.T. He is famed for his dub music, the 1976 Super Ape being refreshed recently, and worked with The Wailers extensively. The album Bob Marley & The Wailers: The Lee Perry Sessions has vocals from Bob Marley, Peter Tosh, Bunny Wailer and Perry.

S.G.