Memorial Service for the 'Cool Ruler', Gregory Isaacs in London

Reggae`s `Cool Ruler` Gregory Isaacs is set to be remembered next week in a memorial service in London.

The UK service, according to his wife Linda, is scheduled to be held at 2 p.m. on Wednesday 10th November at the All Saints` Church in Harrow Weald where Isaacs lived with his family.

Following the service, Isaacs` body will be flown to his homeland, Jamaica on Thursday 11th November for a state funeral and burial. He will be escorted by a cortege comprising his children and grand-children who reside in Britain.

Jamaica`s Culture Minister, Babsy Grange, has organized a state funeral to be held at the National Arena on the island. Isaacs died in London on Monday, October 25, after a battle with lung cancer. He was 59.

Isaacs first recorded in 1968 on `Another Heartache` and by 1973, had a hit with `My Only Lover.` In the next five years, the singer attained a wealth of favorites crossing from ballads to uptempos including `All I Have Is Love,` `Lonely Soldier,` and `Black a Kill Black.`

In 1974, he did it again with the number one track `Love Is Overdue.` He was signed by Front Line Records in 1978 and delivered the albums `Cool Ruler` and `Soon Forward.` Isaacs also appeared in the film Rockers, in which he performed `Slavemaster.`

In 1981, he made his first appearance at the Reggae Sunsplash festival and he moved on to the Charisma Records offshoot Pre, who released his `The Lonely Lover` and `More Gregory` albums along with a string of increasingly successful singles including `Tune In,` `Permanent Lover,` `Wailing Rudy` and `Tribute to Waddy.`

He then moved on to Island Records where he delivered the ever popular, `Night Nurse.` He battled a drug addiction for many years and almost fell silent. But in 2007 he collaborated with the Spanish rap group Flowklorikos album Donde Duele Inspira. In 2008, after some 40 years as a recording artist, Isaacs released a new studio album `Brand New Me,` which has now become his last.