---
name: "Desmond Dekker"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/desmond-dekker"
fi1m_id: "desmond-dekker"
imdb_id: "nm0215266"
tmdb_id: 52840
wikidata_id: "Q333598"
roles: ["Composer"]
born: "16 July 1941"
died: "25 May 2006"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 1
average_over: 1
updated: "2026-09-26T17:48:15.512399+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Desmond Dekker

## Identity

Desmond Dekker

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/desmond-dekker
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** desmond-dekker
- **IMDb ID:** nm0215266
- **TMDB ID:** 52840
- **Wikidata ID:** Q333598
- **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desmond_Dekker, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q333598, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0215266/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/52840

Composer. Born 16 July 1941 in Kingston. Died 25 May 2006.

## Details

- **Work:** Composer
- **Born:** 16 July 1941, Kingston
- **Died:** 25 May 2006
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desmond_Dekker, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q333598, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0215266/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/52840

## Streaming the US now

- **Amazon Prime Video:** [*The Harder They Come*](https://film.one/film/the-harder-they-come.md) (80)

For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country.

## Biography

Desmond Dekker (born Desmond Adolphus Dacres) was a Jamaican singer, songwriter and musician. He was a pioneer of ska, rocksteady and reggae, with hits including "Israelites" and "007 (Shanty Town)".

Dekker was born on 16 July 1941 in Kingston, Jamaica. His song "007 (Shanty Town)" featured on the soundtrack of the 1972 film *The Harder They Come*. He took permanent residency in the United Kingdom in 1969 and died on 25 May 2006 in Thornton Heath, England.

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com, svenskfilmdatabas.se.*

## On Fi1m (1)

- *The Harder They Come* (1972), Fi1m 80, Music — [page](https://film.one/film/the-harder-they-come.md)

## Complete filmography (3)

Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page.

- *L’exposé* (1993), as Compositor
- *The Harder They Come* (1972), Music — Fi1m 80, [page](https://film.one/film/the-harder-they-come.md)
- *Review* (1969), series, Actor

## Gallery

- ![Desmond Dekker](https://film.one/media/person/3918945/gallery-43d99655a1a1.jpg) Desmond Dekker — Original photo by sean mason from Austin, Texas, USA. Cropped by Gaaarg., CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b1/Desmond_Dekker_in_2005.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled)
- ![Freiburg im Breisgau: Desmond Dekker im Jazzhaus](https://film.one/media/person/3918945/gallery-628896c3d258.jpg) Freiburg im Breisgau: Desmond Dekker im Jazzhaus — Marlis Decker, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6f/Freiburg_im_Breisgau-_Desmond_Dekker_im_Jazzhaus_-_LABW_-_Staatsarchiv_Freiburg_W_140_Nr._06392.jpeg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled)

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/desmond-dekker