Delegation

Delegation was formed in Birmingham, UK in the mid 70s by Len Coley and Roddy Harris. Jamaican born and raised Ricky Bailey was drafted in as Lead singer to give the band that much needed edge in the competitive UK soul market. It wasn't long before they achieved notoriety by coming runners up in a little know British Talent show 'New Faces', before Working with producer/writer Ken Gold who co-wrote many of the songs with Mickey Deanne. They began releasing a series of UK singles such as “The Promise of Love” and “Where Is The Love.” But their fortunes changed for the better in 1979 in the US with the release of “Oh Honey,” a fantastic mid-tempo cut that hit the top ten in several countries. The accompanying album, The Promise of Love, included a handful of solid tracks, including the terrific ballad “Mr. Heartbreak” and the minor upbeat cut “Someone Oughta Write a Song (About You Baby),” which also charted. By 1979, Coley and Harris were replaced by Childhood friend Singer/Songwritter Ray Patterson and Bruce Dunbar who was a Broadway Musical sensation from the musical "Hair" before joining the band and provided that mesmerising falsetto so characteristic of all-male soul bands of that time.



After calling upon the arranging genius of keyboard wizz Lynton Naismith The reformulated Delegation released 'Eau De Vie' with international sales exceeding 100,000 gaining them their first and only Gold Disk in 1980 and celebrating a hit with “Heartache 9.” They followed with a self-titled album in 1981 and Deuces High in 1982. During this time demand shifted from the US back to Europe, in particular Germany, France & Italy where the band toured extensively at the height of the Disco Funk scene, rapidlly gaining a reputation as one of the tightest live Funk acts in Europe at that time. In '84 Dunbar quit to return to the states with his young family and was replaced by Kathy Bryant who sang on new material for a couple of years with Rick. Kathay left touring commitments with the band to concentrate on her solo career and was followed by Ray Patterson a few years later leaving the only original member Rick Bailey holding the mantle through to the end of the decade and into the 90's.



Bailey reunited with Gold in the mid-90s to repackage Delegation’s earlier recordings into new compilations and reformed the group to release Encore in Europe in 1999. It was Delegation's final recording.



Rick Bailey still performs as Delegation with some of the original live touring band members whilst moving between residences in th U.K. & U.S.

Delegation enjoy continued support in the U.S. to this day with their Mid 70s Ballads, whilst their merciless 'Disco-Funk' of the late seventies remains the prefered choice of the European contingent.