Matumbi were one of the top

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

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 ...

bands of the 1970s and early 1980s, and are best known as the first successful band of guitarist and

record producer A record producer is a recording project's creative and technical leader, commanding studio time and coaching artists, and in popular genres typically creates the song's very sound and structure.Virgil Moorefield"Introduction" ''The Producer as ...

Dennis Bovell.

History

Matumbi formed in 1971 in

South London South London is the southern part of London, England, south of the River Thames. The region consists of the Districts of England, boroughs, in whole or in part, of London Borough of Bexley, Bexley, London Borough of Bromley, Bromley, London Borou ...

, with a line-up of Tex Dixon (vocals), Euton Jones (drums), Dennis Bovell (guitar), Errol Pottinger (guitar), Eaton "Jah" Blake (bass guitar), Bevin Fagan (vocals), and Nicholas Bailey (vocals, later better known as

Nick Straker Nick Straker (born Nicholas Bailey) is a London-born musician, who had hits in Europe and the US in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Career Straker joined his first band, called Stonehenge, in 1969. The band changed its name in 1971 to Matumbi, ...

).Larkin, Colin (1998), ''The Virgin Encyclopedia of Reggae'', Virgin Books, , p. 187. In the early 1970s, they acted as a backing band to touring

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

n musicians. In 1973, they opened for

The Wailers ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

at the Ethiopian famine relief concert in

Edmonton Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...

, where much to their embarrassment they went down better than the headliners, Bovell later saying: "The press thought we were much better, and we felt terrible because they were our heroes." Matumbi signed to

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 t ...

, and had a major breakthrough in 1976, when their version of

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...

's " Man in Me" became the biggest-selling UK reggae single that year. Success brought problems for the band, with their record label unhappy about some band members' other musical activities, and Bailey and Dixon left, to be replaced by Webster Johnson (keyboards). Pottinger and Jones also left the band, with Glaister Fagan and Lloyd "Jah Bunny" Donaldson joining. The new line-up signed a deal with

Harvest Records Harvest Records is a British-American record label belonging to Capitol Music Group, originally created by EMI in 1969. History Harvest Records was created by EMI in 1969 to market progressive rock music, and to compete with Philips' Vertigo ...

, and toured with Ian Dury & the Blockheads. Matumbi recorded two sessions for

John Peel John Robert Parker Ravenscroft (30 August 1939 – 25 October 2004), known professionally as John Peel, was an English disc jockey (DJ) and radio presenter. He was the longest-serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, broadcasting regularly fr ...

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...

show in 1978.''Matumbi - Keeping it Peel''
BBC Radio 1 sessions. Retrieved 11 September 2009. In the same year, they also recorded the theme song for the television series, ''

Empire Road An empire is a "political unit" made up of several territories and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the empire (sometimes referred to as the metropole) ex ...

''. The group's debut album, ''Seven Seals'', was issued in 1978, but their second album, ''Point of View'', was a greater success, with the title track giving the band a

top 40 In the music industry, the Top 40 is the current, 40 most-popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "Top 40" or " con ...

hit in 1979. Further albums followed between 1980 and 1982, but these did not match their earlier success. Their last album, ''Testify'', was recorded in Jamaica co-produced by Bevin Fagan and drummer Euton Jones. The band split up, with members moving on to various other projects; Bovell released solo material and became renowned as a producer, Donaldson joined

The Cimarons The Cimarons are a British reggae band formed in 1967. They were the UK's first self-contained indigenous reggae band. History Jamaican natives, the Cimarons migrated to Britain in 1967 with a lineup consisting of Franklyn Dunn (bass), Carl Lev ...

, and Fagan and Blake recorded as The Squad. Fagan died of a heart attack in 2008, aged 54.

Discography

Albums

*''Seven Seals'' (1978), Harvest SHSP 4090 *''Point of View'' (1979), EMI *''Dub Planet Orbit 1'' (1980), Extinguish *''Matumbi'' (1981), EMI *''Testify'' (1982), Solid Groove ;Compilations: *''The Best of Matumbi'' (1977), Trojan *''Empire Road - the best of Matumbi'' (2001), EMI *''Music in the Air'' (2005), Trojan

Singles

*" Brother Louie" (1973), Trojan *"Wipe Them Out" (1973), Trojan *"After Tonight" (1976), Trojan *"Man In Me" (1977), Trojan *"Rock" (June 1978), Harvest HAR 5162 *"Empire Road" (September 1978), Harvest HAR 5169 *"Bluebeat & Ska" (March 1979), Harvest HAR 5174 *"

Point of View (Squeeze a Little Lovin') "Point of View (Squeeze a Little Lovin')" is a 1979 song by Matumbi. It made No. 35 on the UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top ...

" (August 1979), Harvest - UK #35Matumbi - The Official Charts Company
Retrieved 14 June 2013. *"Alive & Kicking" (1983)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Matumbi Musical groups from London British reggae musical groups Black British musical groups Trojan Records artists Musical groups established in 1971 1971 establishments in England Musical groups disestablished in 1982 1982 disestablishments in England