Horace Andy (born Horace Hinds, 19 February 1951)
is a Jamaican
roots reggae songwriter and singer, known for his distinctive vocals and hit songs such as "Government Land", as well as "
Angel
In various theistic religious traditions an angel is a supernatural spiritual being who serves God.
Abrahamic religions often depict angels as benevolent celestial intermediaries between God (or Heaven) and humanity. Other roles ...
", "Spying Glass" and "Five Man Army" with English
trip hop
Trip hop (sometimes used synonymously with " downtempo") is a musical genre that originated in the early 1990s in the United Kingdom, especially Bristol. It has been described as a psychedelic fusion of hip hop and electronica with slow tem ...
duo
Massive Attack. He is also famous for a
cover version
In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song relea ...
of "
Ain't No Sunshine". Andy is often described as one of the most respected and influential singers in Jamaica.
Biography
Early days
Born in
Kingston, Jamaica
Kingston is the capital and largest city of Jamaica, located on the southeastern coast of the island. It faces a natural harbour protected by the Palisadoes, a long sand spit which connects the town of Port Royal and the Norman Manley Inte ...
, Hinds recorded his first single, "This is a Black Man's Country," in 1967 for producer
Phil Pratt.
[ "This is a Black Man's Country" failed to make an impact, and it wouldn't be until 1970 that he achieved a breakthrough. After unsuccessfully auditioning at ]Coxsone Dodd
Clement Seymour "Coxsone" Dodd (26 January 1932 – 4 May 2004) was a Jamaican record producer who was influential in the development of ska and reggae in the 1950s, 1960s and beyond.
He was nicknamed "Coxsone" at school due to his talent ...
's Studio One as a duo along with Frank Melody, he successfully auditioned on his own a few days later.[ Dodd decided Hinds should record as Horace Andy, partly to capitalise on the popularity of ]Bob Andy
Keith Anderson CD (28 October 1944 – 27 March 2020), better known by the stage name Bob Andy, was a Jamaican reggae vocalist and songwriter. He was widely regarded as one of reggae's most influential songwriters.
Early life
Anderson was bo ...
, and partly to avoid comparisons with his cousin, Justin Hinds, with whom his singing style at the time showed a resemblance.[ "Got To Be Sure", the song he had auditioned with, became his first release for Studio One. The following two years saw the release of further singles such as "See a Man's Face", "Night Owl", "Fever", and "Mr. Bassie". One of Andy's most enduring songs, "Skylarking", first appeared on Dodd's ''Jamaica Today'' compilation album, but after proving a sound system success, it was released as a single, going on to top the Jamaican chart.][ The next few years saw Andy regularly in the reggae charts with further singles for Dodd such as "Something on My Mind", "Love of a Woman", "Just Say Who", and "Every Tongue Shall Tell", as well as singles for other producers such as "Lonely Woman" (for Derrick Harriott), "Girl I Love You" (Ernest and Joseph Hoo Kim), "Love You to Want Me" and "Delilah" (]Gussie Clarke
Augustus "Gussie" Clarke (born 1954) is a reggae producer who worked with some of the top Jamaican reggae artists in the 1970s and later set up his own Music Works studio.
Career
Clarke started working in the music industry by cutting dub pla ...
), and "Get Wise", "Feel Good", and "Money Money" for Phil Pratt. Andy had a second Jamaican number one single in 1973 with "Children of Israel".[ Andy's most successful association with a producer, however, was with Bunny Lee in the middle part of the 1970s. This era produced a series of singles now regarded as classics such as a re-recorded "Skylarking", "Just Say Who", "Don't Try To Use Me", "You Are My Angel", "Zion Gate", "I've Got to Get Away", and a new version of "Something on My Mind".][
In 1977, Andy moved to ]Hartford, Connecticut
Hartford is the capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It was the seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960. It is the core city in the Greater Hartford metropolitan area. Census estimates since t ...
, with his first wife, Claudette, where he recorded for Everton DaSilva, including the ''In The Light'' album and its associated dub album, and singles such as "Do You Love My Music" and "Government Land". Andy set up his own ''Rhythm'' label, which became an outlet for his work with DaSilva. The association with the producer was brought to an abrupt end when DaSilva was murdered in 1979.[ Andy's 1978 album ''Pure Ranking'' had anticipated the rise of ]dancehall
Dancehall is a genre of Jamaican popular music that originated in the late 1970s. Initially, dancehall was a more sparse version of reggae than the roots style, which had dominated much of the 1970s.Barrow, Steve & Dalton, Peter (2004) "The R ...
reggae, and he was a key figure in the early development of the genre, confirmed by 1982's ''Dance Hall Style'' album.[ Andy continued to record with a variety of producers in the first half of the 1980s. In 1985, with his second wife Caroline, he relocated to ]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 to ...
, London, and he recorded in the United Kingdom as well as regularly visiting Jamaica for further recording work.
Mainstream success with Massive Attack and after
1990 saw Andy's profile further raised when he began collaborating with Bristol
Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, city, Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Glouces ...
trip hop pioneers Massive Attack, going on to contribute to all five of their albums (the only artist to do so), most notably on "Angel" (a new version of "You Are My Angel"), released on their third album, ''Mezzanine
A mezzanine (; or in Italian, a ''mezzanino'') is an intermediate floor in a building which is partly open to the double-height ceilinged floor below, or which does not extend over the whole floorspace of the building, a loft with non-sloped ...
'', and later on their 2010 release ''Heligoland
Heligoland (; german: Helgoland, ; Heligolandic Frisian: , , Mooring Frisian: , da, Helgoland) is a small archipelago in the North Sea. A part of the German state of Schleswig-Holstein since 1890, the islands were historically possession ...
'' with the tracks " Splitting the Atom" and "Girl I Love You". In the mid-1990s he also worked with Mad Professor, releasing the albums ''Life Is For Living'' and ''Roots and Branches''. He then continued to record new music, with the album ''Living in the Flood'', released in 1999 on Massive Attack's Melankolic record label, and ''Mek It Bun'' in 2002. He also featured on the world music project 1 Giant Leap and on the Easy Star All-Stars
Easy Star All-Stars is a reggae collective founded in 1997 by Michael Goldwasser, Eric Smith, Lem Oppenheimer and Remy Gerstein of New York City-based Easy Star Records. The band is known for its reinterpretations of classic albums in reggae styl ...
2006 album ''Radiodread
''Radiodread'' is a 2006 tribute album by the Easy Star All-Stars that covers Radiohead's 1997 album ''OK Computer'' in reggae, ska and dub styles.
History
''Radiodread'' producer and arranger Michael Goldwasser said:
:''OK Computer'' has el ...
''.
2022 saw the release of Andy's album ''Midnight Rocker'', produced by Adrian Sherwood of On-U Sound. Andy's vocals were recorded in Jamaica, with the tracks sent back and forth between vocalist and producer until they were complete. The album received critical acclaim upon its release.
Personal life
Andy is a Rastafarian.
Some of his lyrics have been criticized for being homophobic. Andy confirmed that Trojan Records
Trojan Records is a British record label founded in 1968. It specialises in ska, rocksteady, reggae and dub music. The label currently operates under the Sanctuary Records Group. The name ''Trojan'' comes from the Croydon-built Trojan truck ...
only agreed to release his album ''On Tour'' after removing a track containing the lyrics "The Father never make Adam and Steve, he make Adam and Eve".
Discography
Albums
* '' Skylarking'' (1972) Studio One
* ''You Are My Angel'' (1973) Trojan
* ''Earth Must Be Hell'' (1974) Atra (with Winston Jarrett) aka ''The Kingston Rock''
* ''Earth Must Be Hell – Dub'' (1974) Atra (with Winston Jarrett)
* ''In the Light'' (1977) Hungry Town
* ''In the Light Dub'' (1977) Hungry Town
* ''Pure Ranking'' (1978) Clocktower
* ''Bim Sherman Meets Horace Andy and U Black Inna Rub a Dub Style'' (1980) Yard International (with Bim Sherman and U Black)
* ''Natty Dread a Weh She Want'' (1980) New Star
* ''Unity Showcase'' (1981) Pre (with )
* ''Dance Hall Style'' (1982) Wackies aka ''Exclusively'' (1982) Solid Groove
* ''Showcase'' (1984) Vista Sounds
* ''Confusion'' (1984) Music Hawk
* ''Sings For You and I'' (1985) Striker Lee
* ''Clash of the Andy's'' (1985) Thunderbolt (with Patrick Andy)
* ''Elementary'' (1985) Rough Trade
Rough Trade may refer to:
* Rough Trade Records, a record label
*Rough Trade (shops)
Rough Trade is a group of independent record shops in the United Kingdom and the United States with headquarters in London.
The first Rough Trade shop was o ...
– Horace Andy & Rhythm Queen
* ''Reggae Superstars Meet'' (1986) Striker Lee (with Dennis Brown)
* ''From One Extreme to Another'' (1986) Beta (with John Holt)
* ''Haul & Jack Up'' (1987) Live & Love
* ''Fresh'' (1988) Island in the Sun
* ''Shame and Scandal'' (1988)
* ''Everyday People'' (1988) Wackies
* ''Rude Boy'' (1993) Shanachie
* '' Jah Shaka Meets Horace Andy'' (1994) Jah Shaka Music
* ''Dub Salute 1 Featuring Horace Andy'' (1994) Jah Shaka Music
* ''Seek and You Will Find'' (1995) Blackamix International
* ''Seek and You Will Find – The Dub Pieces'' (1995) Blackamix International
* ''Life Is for Living'' (1995) Ariwa
* ''Roots and Branches'' (1997) Ariwa
* ''See and Blind'' (1998) Heartbeat
* ''Living in the Flood'' (1999) Melankolic
* ''Mek It Bun'' (2002) Wrasse
* ''From the Roots: Horace Andy Meets Mad Professor'' RAS
Ras or RAS may refer to:
Arts and media
* RAS Records Real Authentic Sound, a reggae record label
* Rundfunk Anstalt Südtirol, a south Tyrolese public broadcasting service
* Rás 1, an Icelandic radio station
* Rás 2, an Icelandic radio sta ...
* ''This World'' (2005) Attack
* ''Livin' It Up'' (2007) Medium (with Sly & Robbie
Sly and Robbie were a prolific Jamaican rhythm section and production duo, associated primarily with the reggae and dub genres. Drummer Sly Dunbar and bassist Robbie Shakespeare teamed up in the mid-1970s after establishing themselves separa ...
)
* ''On Tour'' (2008) Sanctuary
A sanctuary, in its original meaning, is a sacred place, such as a shrine. By the use of such places as a haven, by extension the term has come to be used for any place of safety. This secondary use can be categorized into human sanctuary, a sa ...
* ''Two Phazed People'' (2009) dontTouch (with Alpha
Alpha (uppercase , lowercase ; grc, ἄλφα, ''álpha'', or ell, άλφα, álfa) is the first letter of the Greek alphabet. In the system of Greek numerals, it has a value of one. Alpha is derived from the Phoenician letter aleph , whi ...
)
* '' Serious Times'' (2010)
* ''Broken Beats'' (2013), Echo Beach
* ''Live It Up'' (2019), Pioneer International
* ''Midnight Rocker'' (2022), On-U Sound
Contributing artist
* ''The Rough Guide to Dub
''The Rough Guide to Dub'' is a world music compilation album originally released in 2005. Part of the World Music Network Rough Guides series, the release covers the roots of dub music, focusing on the period 1973-1980. Curation was performed by ...
'' (2005) World Music Network
References
External links
Searchable discography at Roots Archives
Interview with Horace Andy (2014)
on ''Reggae.Today''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Andy, Horace
Jamaican reggae musicians
1951 births
Living people
Musicians from Kingston, Jamaica
Converts to the Rastafari movement
Performers of Rastafarian music
Jamaican Rastafarians
Tenors
Wrasse Records artists
Trojan Records artists
Trip hop musicians