Black Uhuru: Live in London - 25th Anniversary (2008)
(Available August 19th 2008).
You can pre-order your copy now!
(click here to pre-order).
Black Uhuru
was the leading second generation reggae vocal groups, and was formed in Jamaica in 1974 by Euvin "Don Carlos" Spencer, Rudolph "Garth" Dennis, and Derrick "Duckie" Simpson. These three grew up in the famed "Waterhouse" district of Kingston, Jamaica (a hot bed for reggae artists over the years). After a couple of years the group as it was originally known grew apart as Don Carlos went on to a solo career, and Garth Dennis went on to sing with another of the great Waterhouse group, the Wailing Souls. Duckie Simpson continued to work under the Black Uhuru
name (Uhuru means Freedom in the Swahili language of Africa), and he enlisted an up and coming singer, Michael Rose, and Errol "Jay's Wilson to record the "Love Crisis" album with producer Prince Jammys (then a protege of the famed pioneering reggae producer, King Tubbys). One of the best known best tracks from this album, "I Love King Selassie," has survived to become a bonafide reggae anthem.
This Black Sounds of Freedom album is a remixing of the Love Crisis album and was eventually released in the UK in 1980 on the Greensleeves label. After that period, American expatriate, Sandra "Puma" Jones, joined Michael and Duckie to add haunting high harmonies to the group, and Black Uhuru joined forces with Sly and Robbie, releasing some the best reggae music of the 1980's and were the first group to win a Grammy award when the Reggae category was introduced in 1985. Michael Rose left the group for a solo career in the late 80's and another young "Waterhouse" area singer Junior Reid
joined the group for three years starting in1986. Puma Jones passed away in 1990, and about that same time the original three members Don, Garth, and Duckie joined together one again to record and tour throughout the early and mid-Nineties. Black Uhuru continues today under the direction of Duckie Simpson and with another "Waterhouse" product named Andrew Bees.
Black Sounds of Freedom is a crucial album that showcased the raw power of Reggae groups in the Rockers period of Jamaican music in the late 70's, and is one of the cornerstone albums that is laid in Reggae music's foundation.
Black Uhuru is a Jamaican reggae band probably best known for their hits "Shine Eye Gal", "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner," "Sinsemilla," "Solidarity," and "What Is Life?". They were the first group to win a Grammy in the reggae category when it was introduced in 1985. They originally formed as 'Black Sounds Uhuru' (the Swahili word for freedom).
The first line-up of the group was Garth Dennis, Don Carlos, and Derrick "Duckie" Simpson. The group has undergone several lineup changes: Carlos left, replaced by Michael Rose; then Dennis left to play with The Wailing Souls, and was replaced by Errol Nelson. During this early period, the band's most famous recording is the album entitled Love Crisis, later rereleased as Black Sounds Of Freedom.
In 1979 the group was joined by Sandra "Puma" Jones, a social worker from North Carolina, USA. Under this lineup, (Rose, Simpson and Jones), with Sly & Robbie as producers (and also permanently employed on drum and bass), they released the band's most popular albums: Sinsemilla, Red, Chill Out, and the Grammy-winning Anthem¹, as well as others. During this period, Black Uhuru became one of the most popular reggae groups in the world, regularly touring with the likes of The Police and The Rolling Stones. Live 1984 (a concert at the Rockpalast in Germany, but was actually recorded on October 18, 1981) captures the band at the height of its powers.
After Rose went solo in 1985,
Junior Reid joined for a few records and also left; Puma Jones left in 1987 (and died of cancer three years later, in 1990). In 1990, Simpson reunited with Dennis and Carlos in the original line-up of the group. They recorded several albums and toured extensively. By the end of the 90's, Dennis and Carlos left the band and fought a legal battle against Simpson over the name Black Uhuru.
Simpson won the lawsuit and formed yet another incarnation of Black Uhuru with Andrew Bees as lead singer. Only one album, Dynasty, was released before Bees left the group.
In February 2004, it was announced in the Jamaican press that Simpson and Michael Rose had re-united under the name
"Black Uhuru feat. Michael Rose".
Together with a female backing singer named Kay Starr, they released a single, "Dollars" and performed at several concerts including "Western Consciousness 2004" on April 28 in Jamaica, of which a live video was released shortly thereafter. A new album has been reported to be in progress.
From that time until this time, Black Uhuru (the Swahili word for freedom) has always represented the gritty sound of reggae and has always stayed firm in their convictions to promote the political and spiritual side of reggae. In their many incarnations, Black Uhuru have always had Duckie "Gong" Simpson as the leader and torch-bearer of the Uhuru sound.
Having won the first Grammy ever for reggae, there has always been a great amount of responsibility placed on the group. Having toured with the Rolling Stones and The Police, Black Uhuru received great exposure beyond the reggae audiences that most Jamaican artists perform to.
After Michael Rose left the group and was replaced by Junior Reid, Uhuru recorded two brilliant albums for RAS. Later, Don Carlos and Garth Dennis rejoined the group and a number of recordings were done for the Mesa/Blue Moon label. Now, with Andrew Bees as the lead singer, Black Uhuru is again poised to dominate the field of militant reggae ambassadors.
Throughout "Dynasty" the trademark Black Uhuru sound is very evident. With Sly Dunbar contributing all drum tracks and with stellar performances by Robbie Shakespeare, Earl "Chinna" Smith, Dean Fraser, Robbie Lyn and Asher Brissett to round out a field of musical stalwarts, we have a production that all Uhuru fans are bound to love and treasure.
Black Uhuru is being discovered by a whole new legion of fans who know the name, but are now getting re-acquainted with the Black Uhuru sound. With this new release we expect to see a whole new resurgence of Uhuru fans. Support Black Uhuru and you will support black freedom. Onward, through the fog.
