China Black

China Black was a British pop-reggae duo, consisting of Simon Fung (songwriter, composer, lyricist, guitarist, keyboardist, arranger and record producer) and Errol Reid (singer-songwriter).

The band took its name from the different backgrounds of its members. Finn, who is British-Chinese ('China') and Reid, who has Jamaican heritage ('Black').

Their music is typified by heavy, lush string arrangements, gospel choirs, a dance/pop/reggae beat, pizzicato strings and mostly minor chord arrangements on piano.

The group first released the song "Searching" in 1992 which stayed in the reggae chart for 12 weeks at number one and went top 5 in the R&B chart. However their indie record label went bankrupt and the track did not chart in the main UK Singles Chart. However, after much interest from major record companies they decided to go with Polydor Records.

1994 in British pop music was notable for a growing pop/reggae crossover trend. Artists such as Ace of Base, Chaka Demus & Pliers and Pato Banton (with the help of UB40), took their radio-friendly "pop/reggae" hits to the top of the UK charts for weeks. There was a resurgence in old reggae favourites, Aswad's popularity and the rise of Shaggy as a global star meant reggae was becoming increasingly mainstream. In July 1994 the newly re-signed group re-released "Searching" on the back of this trend. The song peaked at No. 4 on the UK chart, and stayed inside the top 75 for 16 weeks. China Black's blend of pop and reggae was a radio favourite all summer. "Searching" went on to sell over 400,000 copies in the UK, became a success across Europe and did particularly well in Japan.

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