The police yesterday advised the organisers of the annual Dennis Brown Day celebrations to postpone the event.

The concert was scheduled to be held at the inter- section of North and King streets in downtown Kingston but was called off for security reasons. The organisers have since been given the ok to keep the function in two weeks time, on Sunday March 3, but at a new venue - the Kingston Waterfront.

Efforts to speak with Superintendent Steve McGregor, head of the Central Kingston Police Division, proved futile yesterday, but Charles Campbell, vice-chairman, Jamaica Reggae Industry Association, said the organisers were informed of the postponement after 1 p.m.

"The police, the Government and the organisers did everything to make the event possible for yesterday, we had the stage and everything set to start at 6 p.m..," Campbell revealed. "I would like to apologise to our patrons and the world, but more importantly this is a lesson for us as a country to purge criminality from our midst."

Asked if the postponement would impact the event, Campbell said, "Yes, it will but life and limb are our first priority."

Several shootings in and around the Fletcher's Land community, which is near to where the concert was to be held, may have been what forced the police's hand. It was reported that differences between men from the area over the theft of several gold bars have resulted in at least two deaths.