Brian “Planet” Jackson 1947 - 2017

It’s sad to say goodbye to our old friend Brian aka Prince Boppa aka Planet, he had been suffering from Alzheimer’s over the past two years so although his passing is tough to take it’s also a blessing. Brian was one of On the Wire’s most ardent supporters, playing a lead role in the campaign to keep the show on air back in 1991 when threatened by “reorganisation”. He would often turn up at the studio with a rare reggae tune or some bizarre offering from a far flung place, sometimes he would just arrive unannounced to plug a Friends of the Earth event or a some other charity gig he was organising. Like our late mutual friend Roger Eagle, an old spar of Brian’s from Manchester in the 60s, he was articulate and well-spoken and could be impish, and occasionally ornery with a wicked wit. He delivered roots reggae in fine style to the Far East of Lancashire and converted many thirsting souls to the music he loved. We will miss him and remember him fondly as one of a kind in this increasingly beige world.