Vivian Jones (born 1957) is a

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-born

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 ...

singer, who performed with several bands in the 1970s before recording as a solo artist from 1980.

Biography

Born in

Trelawny Parish Trelawny (Jamaican Patois: ''Trilaani'' or ''Chrilaani'') is a parish in the county of Cornwall in northwest Jamaica. Its capital is Falmouth. It is bordered by the parishes of Saint Ann in the east, Saint James in the west, and Saint Eliza ...

in 1957, Jones relocated to England at the age of ten to join his parents who had emigrated there a few years earlier.Moskowitz, David V. (2006) ''Reggae & Caribbean Music: an Encyclopedia of Reggae, Mento, Ska, Rock Steady, and Dancehall'', Greenwood Press, , p. 161 They lived in and around London, moving between

Willesden Willesden () is an area of northwest London, situated 5 miles (8 km) northwest of Charing Cross. It is historically a parish in the county of Middlesex that was incorporated as the Municipal Borough of Willesden in 1933, and has formed ...

Alperton Alperton () is an area of north west London, England, within the London Borough of Brent. It forms the southern part of the town of Wembley and is west north-west of Charing Cross. It includes a handful of high-rise and many mid-rise buildings ...

, and Harrow, with Jones becoming increasingly involved in the local reggae scene, and in the mid-1970s he began performing with

sound systems In physics, sound is a vibration that propagates as an acoustic wave, through a transmission medium such as a gas, liquid or solid. In human physiology and psychology, sound is the ''reception'' of such waves and their ''perception'' by the ...

, initially as a

deejay A disc jockey, more commonly abbreviated as DJ, is a person who plays recorded music for an audience. Types of DJs include radio DJs (who host programs on music radio stations), club DJs (who work at a nightclub or music festival), mobile D ...

. In the 1970s he was a member of several bands including The Spartans, The Doctor Birds, the Mighty Vibes and the Pieces.Taylor, Angus (2010)
Interview: Vivian Jones - Career Retrospective Part 1
, unitedreggae.com, 9 February 2010, retrieved 2011-03-12Larkin, Colin (1998) ''The Virgin Encyclopedia of Reggae'', Virgin Books, , p. 149 In 1980 he began to record as a solo artist, enjoying a hit that year with "Good Morning" (actually a remixed recording by the Mighty Vibes), which topped the UK reggae charts. The following year, he was voted 'Most Talented Singer' in a poll for ''Black Echoes'' magazine. He had a series of hits, with his popularity also spreading to Jamaica. Disillusioned with the music industry, he returned to Jamaica in 1982 to stay with his grandparents, and also recorded some material there. He returned to London and began work outside of music. He soon began recording again in his spare time, and his debut album, ''Bank Robbery'', was released in 1984, and he went on to work with

Jah Shaka Jah Shaka, also known as the Zulu Warrior is a Jamaican reggae/dub sound system operator who has been operating a South East London-based, roots reggae Jamaican sound system since the early 1970s. His name is an amalgamation of the Rastafarian t ...

, the two collaborating on the ''Jah Works'' album, released in 1987 but recorded a few years earlier. He also recorded in Jamaica for producers such as Bobby Digital and

Junior Reid Delroy "Junior" Reid (born 6 June 1963) is a Jamaican reggae and dancehall musician, best known for his featuring on the songs " One Blood", " It's Okay (One Blood)" and "This Is Why I'm Hot", as well as being the lead vocalist for Black Uhuru ...

and recorded duets with

Sylvia Tella Sylvia Tella (born Silifatu Mornii Wehabie Tella in 1961) is a British lovers rock singer, who after working as a backing band vocalist for Boney M embarked on a successful solo career, releasing her first album in 1981. She had a top 40 hit in ...

, Debbie Gordon, and

Deborahe Glasgow Deborahe Elizabeth Glasgow (19 January 1966 – 25 January 1994) was an English lovers rock singer of Guyanese parentage, who was active from the late 1970s to the beginning of the 1990s. Though Glasgow released only one album in her lifetime, 19 ...

. In the 1990s he set up his own Imperial House label and became known primarily for his

lovers rock Lovers' rock is a style of reggae music noted for its romantic sound and content. While love songs had been an important part of reggae since the late 1960s, the style was given a greater focus and a name in London in the mid-1970s.Larkin, Col ...

material, enjoying big hits with "Sugar Love" and "Strong Love", but also recorded more roots-oriented music with albums such as ''Iyaman'' (1994). In 1991 he was named 'Best Male Artist' in the British Reggae Industry Awards.Taylor, Angus (2010)
Interview: Vivian Jones - Career Retrospective Part 2
, unitedreggae.com, 18 February 2010, retrieved 2011-03-12 He enjoyed an international hit in the late 1990s with "Jah See Dem a Come". In 2007 he released the album ''50th'', featuring old rhythms from producers such as

Bunny Lee Edward O'Sullivan Lee OD (23 August 1941 – 6 October 2020), better known as Bunny "Striker" Lee, was a Jamaican record producer. He was known as a pioneer of the United Kingdom reggae market, licensing his productions to Trojan Records i ...

, to celebrate his 50th birthday. ''Lovers Rocking'' was released in 2013, and Jones recorded material in Jamaica with

Sly and 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 ...

and Bobby Digital for an album planned for release in 2014.Campbell, Howard (2014)
Vivian Jones working on lovers rock set
, ''

Jamaica Observer ''Jamaica Observer'' is a daily newspaper published in Kingston, Jamaica. The publication is owned by Butch Stewart, who chartered the paper in January 1993 as a competitor to Jamaica's oldest daily paper, ''The Gleaner''. Its founding editor i ...

'', 26 March 2014. Retrieved 26 March 2014

Discography

*''Bank Robbery'' (1984), Ruff Cut *''Jah Works'' (1987),

*''Collection 1'' (1989), Rosie *''Jamaica Love'' (1990), Imperial House *''Strong Love'' (1993), Jet Star *''Iyaman'' (1994), Imperial House *''Love Is For Lovers'' (1995), Imperial House *''Big Leaders'', Imperial House *''Big Leaders Dub'', Imperial House *''Moment of Magic'', Imperial House *''The Vivian Jones Songbook Vol.1'' (2002), Imperial House *''50th'' (2007), Cousins *''One Way Exclusive'' (2009) *''Lovers Rocking'' (2013) ;Compilations: *''Reggae Max'' (1997), Jet Star

References

External links

Vivian Jones
on Myspace {{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Vivian 1957 births Living people People from Trelawny Parish Jamaican reggae singers 20th-century Black British male singers 21st-century Black British male singers