Aswad are a British
reggae
Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...
group, noted for adding strong
R&B and
soul
In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being".
Etymology
The Modern English noun '' soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest atte ...
influences to the reggae sound. They have been performing since the mid-1970s, having released a total of 21 albums. Their
UK hit singles include the
number one
Number One most commonly refers to:
* 1 (number)
Number One, No. 1, or #1 may also refer to:
Music Albums
* ''Number 1'' (Big Bang album), and the title song
* ''No. 1'' (BoA album), and the title song
* ''No.1'' (EP), by CLC
* ''n.1 ...
"
Don't Turn Around
"Don't Turn Around" is a popular song written by Albert Hammond and Diane Warren. It was originally recorded by Tina Turner as the B-side to the single " Typical Male" in 1986. It has since been included on the rarities disc of the 1994 compi ...
" (1988) and "
Shine" (1994). "Aswad" is
Arabic
Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...
for "
black
Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ...
". They are three-time
Grammy Award
The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pr ...
nominees.
History
The members of Aswad are UK descendants of immigrants from the
Caribbean. They attended John Kelly/
Holland Park School
Holland Park School is a coeducational secondary school and sixth form in Holland Park, London, England. In 2013, it has attained academy status. Opened in 1958, the school became the flagship for comprehensive education, and at one time had ove ...
. Aswad was formed in 1975 in
Ladbroke Grove
Ladbroke Grove () is an area and a road in West London in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, passing through Kensal Green and Notting Hill, running north–south between Harrow Road and Holland Park Avenue.
It is also a name given ...
area of
West London
West London is the western part of London, England, north of the River Thames, west of the City of London, and extending to the Greater London boundary.
The term is used to differentiate the area from the other parts of London: North Londo ...
.
The original members of Aswad were guitarist/vocalist
Brinsley "Chaka B" Forde, drummer/vocalist
Angus "Drummie Zeb" Gaye, lead guitarist/vocalist Donald "Dee" Griffiths, bassist George "Ras" Oban, and keyboardist Courtney "Khaki" Hemmings.
Aswad were the backing band of
Burning Spear
Winston Rodney OD (born 1 March 1945), better known by the stage name Burning Spear, is a Jamaican roots reggae singer-songwriter, vocalist and musician. Burning Spear is a Rastafarian and one of the most influential and long-standing roots ...
's 1977 ''
Live'' album, recorded at the
Rainbow Theatre in London. Other contributors included
Vin Gordon
Vin Gordon (a.k.a. Trommie, Don D. Junior or Don Drummond Jr) (born 4 August 1949) is a Jamaican trombone player.
Biography
Gordon grew up in Jones Town, Kingston, Jamaica as one of eight children. He went to Kingston's Catholic Alpha Boys S ...
, and Karl Pitterson.
Initially, the band produced music in the
roots reggae
Roots reggae is a subgenre of reggae that deals with the everyday lives and aspirations of Africans and those in the African Diaspora, including the spiritual side of Rastafari, black liberation, revolution and the honoring of God, called Jah ...
vein, with members contributing songs individually and with Forde acting as the band's principal songwriter. The band's dynamic soon began to change however. Shortly after the release of their self-titled debut album in 1976, Hemmings left and was replaced by Tony "Gad" Robinson (the only time in the band's history where a departing member would be officially replaced by an incoming musician). The band then released their second studio effort, ''Hulet'', in 1978, before Oban departed the band in 1979, with Robinson taking over the position of bassist as well as continuing his role as keyboardist. The following year saw Griffiths depart, leaving Forde as the band's sole guitarist.
During this early period in the band's history they were distinctly different from Jamaican reggae acts, in that they wrote songs that dealt with the issues surrounding the experiences of black youths growing-up in the UK;
such as "Three Babylon" and "It's Not Our Wish", and the powerful
jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...
-influenced
instrumental
An instrumental is a recording normally without any vocals, although it might include some inarticulate vocals, such as shouted backup vocals in a big band setting. Through semantic widening, a broader sense of the word song may refer to inst ...
"Warrior Charge".
Once the band's line-up had stabilised into the trio of Forde, Gaye, and Robinson, Aswad followed a more commercial reggae style, gaining a wider audience with the ''New Chapter'' album (1981). They then followed this with the Michael Reuben Campbell-produced ''
A New Chapter of Dub
''A New Chapter of Dub'' is an album by English reggae band Aswad, released by Island Records in April 1982. The record is a dub version of Aswad's previous album ''New Chapter'' (1981), and was produced by the group with Michael "Reuben" Camp ...
'' LP which was a dub of the entire ''New Chapter'' album. ''Not Satisfied'' was a London roots-reggae album released in 1982. In August 1982, Aswad played live at on the Sunday of the
Notting Hill Carnival; the resulting live album ''Live and Direct'' is a faithful record of that event, where they played a live dub set. "Love Fire" gained wide recognition when it was used as the backing rhythm for
Dennis Brown
Dennis Emmanuel Brown CD (1 February 1957 – 1 July 1999) was a Jamaican reggae singer. During his prolific career, which began in the late 1960s when he was aged eleven, he recorded more than 75 albums and was one of the major stars of lo ...
's "Promised Land".
Among Aswad's catalogue of
hit
Hit means to strike someone or something.
Hit or HIT may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities
* Hit, a fictional character from '' Dragon Ball Super''
* Homicide International Trust, or HIT, a fictional organization ...
s is "
Don't Turn Around
"Don't Turn Around" is a popular song written by Albert Hammond and Diane Warren. It was originally recorded by Tina Turner as the B-side to the single " Typical Male" in 1986. It has since been included on the rarities disc of the 1994 compi ...
", a UK No. 1 hit in 1988,
originally recorded by
Tina Turner
Tina Turner (born Anna Mae Bullock; November 26, 1939) is an American-born Swiss retired singer and actress. Widely referred to as the " Queen of Rock 'n' Roll", she rose to prominence as the lead singer of the Ike & Tina Turner Revue before ...
as a
B-side to her "
Typical Male" single. They followed this up with UK No. 11 hit "Give a Little Love",
and a reggae-flavoured rendition of "
Best of My Love", first popularised and written by
The Eagles
The Eagles are an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1971. With five number-one singles and six number-one albums, six Grammy Awards and five American Music Awards, the Eagles were one of the most successful musical acts of the 1970s ...
. In 1989, they contributed the single "Set Them Free" to the
Greenpeace ''Rainbow Warriors'' album. In the same year, they performed together with
Cliff Richard
Sir Cliff Richard (born Harry Rodger Webb; 14 October 1940) is an Indian-born British musican, singer, producer, entrepreneur and philanthropist who holds both British and Barbadian citizenship. He has total sales of over 21.5 million s ...
the song "Share a Dream", recorded the previous year, at
Wembley Stadium
Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 2002 to 2003. The stadium ...
as part of The Event (16 and 17 June 1989). Their next single, "
Shine", was released in 1994 and was a big hit in much of Europe. Another track was the upbeat 1998 remake of
The Police
The Police were an English rock band formed in London in 1977. For most of their history the line-up consisted of primary songwriter Sting (lead vocals, bass guitar), Andy Summers (guitar) and Stewart Copeland (drums, percussion). The Polic ...
's "
Invisible Sun", performed with
Sting.
The band also hold the distinction of having played with each one of the ex-
Wailers.
The band has toured extensively, playing in diverse locations from London's
Royal Albert Hall and
Montego Bay's
Reggae Sunsplash, to gigs in West Africa,
Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
and Japan.
Aswad underwent their first line-up change in sixteen years in 1996, when Forde departed the band for spiritual reasons, leaving Gaye as the only founding member. Once again, the remaining members opted not to seek to recruit a replacement musician, and thus Aswad became a duo of Gaye and Robinson. With the exception of a brief reunion with Forde in 2009 for the Island record label's 50th-anniversary celebrations, the band's line-up remained the same until Angus Gaye’s death in 2022. Gaye died on 2 September 2022, aged 62.
Aswad released their final studio album to date in 2009, with ''City Lock''. They released the singles "What Is Love?" and "Do That Thing" in the same year.
Members
*
Brinsley "Dan" Forde – vocals, lead & rhythm guitars
(1975–1996, 2009)
*
Angus "Drummie Zeb" Gaye – vocals, drums
(1975–2022) (died 2022)
* Donald "Dee" Griffiths – lead guitars
(1975–1980)
* Courtney "Khaki" Hemmings – keyboards
(1975–1976)
* George "Ras" Oban – bass
(1975–1979)
* Tony "Gad" Robinson – bass, keyboards, vocals
(1976–2022)
;Additional musicians
* Stanley Andrew – lead guitars, rhythm guitars, acoustic guitars, vocals
* Clifton "Bigga" Morrison – vocals, keyboards, melodica
* Martin "Tatta" Augustine – lead guitars
*
John Kpiaye
John Ogetti Kpiaye (born 1948) is a reggae session and live guitarist.Larkin, Colin (1998) "John Kpiaye" in ''The Virgin Encyclopedia of Reggae'', Virgin Books, , pp. 160-161 He was a member of The Cats who had a No. 48 UK hit with "Swan Lake", a ...
– guitars
* Jimmy "Senyah" Haynes – lead guitars, acoustic guitars
* Michael "Bammie" Rose – saxophone
* Vin "Trommie" Gordon – trombone
* Eddie "Tan Tan" Thornton – trumpet
* Carlton "Bubblers" Ogilvie – keyboards
* Jimmy "J-Slice" Neath – trumpet
* Paul Garred – guitars
* Michael Martin – keyboards
* Patrick Tenyue – trumpet
* Henry 'Buttons' Tenyue – trombone
* Brian Edwards – saxophone
* Trevor “T-BoNe” Jones – trombone
* Perry "Lion" Melius – drums
* Kenrick Rowe – drums
* Paul Slowley – drums
Discography
Albums
Singles
Production work
*
Ace of Base remix of "
Don't Turn Around
"Don't Turn Around" is a popular song written by Albert Hammond and Diane Warren. It was originally recorded by Tina Turner as the B-side to the single " Typical Male" in 1986. It has since been included on the rarities disc of the 1994 compi ...
" (No.5 hit in the
UK)
*
Vanessa Mae
Vanessa-Mae (陈美 Chén Měi; born 27 October 1978) also called Vanessa-Mae Vanakorn Nicholson, is a Singaporean-born British violinist with album sales reaching several million, having made her the wealthiest entertainer under 30 in the Uni ...
– "Classical Gas" (#41 in UK)
*
Janet Kay
Janet Kay Bogle (born 17 January 1958) is an English actor and vocalist, best known for her 1979 lovers rock hit "Silly Games".
Biography
Janet Kay Bogle was born in Willesden, North West London. She was discovered singing impromptu at a rehea ...
– "Missing You"
See also
*
List of reggae musicians
This is a list of reggae musicians. This includes artists who have either been very important to the genre or have had a considerable amount of exposure (such as in the case of one that has been on a major label). Bands are listed by the first lett ...
*
John Arnison
Marillion are a British rock band, formed in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, in 1979. They emerged from the post-punk music scene in Britain and existed as a bridge between the styles of punk rock and classic progressive rock, becoming the most ...
References
External links
*
Biography and discography"Aswad: Reggae Gold", interview by Pete Lewis ''Blues & Soul'', July 2009.
Gallery of Aswad party pictures by dz studiosMyspace profile*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aswad (Band)
Musical groups from London
British reggae musical groups
Black British musical groups
Reggae fusion groups
Island Records artists
Gut Records artists
Musical groups established in 1975
Musical groups disestablished in 2022
1975 establishments in England
2022 disestablishments in England