Steel Pulse
| Steel Pulse | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Birmingham, England |
| Genres | Roots reggae, British reggae |
| Years active | 1975–present |
| Labels |
Island, Mango Elektra MCA Atlantic RAS |
| Website | Steelpulse.com |
| Members |
David Hinds Selwyn Brown Sidney Mills Clifford Pusey Jerry Johnson Wayne Clarke Makiesha McTaggert Amlak Tafari |
| Past members |
Ronald McQueen Basil Gabbidon Colin Gabbidon Donovan Shaw Steve Nisbett Alphonso Martin Mykaell Riley Melvin Brown Alvin Ewen Tyrone Downie Errol Reid Yaz Alexander Steve Morrison James Renford Kevin Batchelor Clark Gayton Conrad Kelly Micah Robinson Donna Sterling Sylvia Tella Melanie Lynch Traciana Graves Marea Wilson Donovan McKitty |
Steel Pulse are a roots reggae musical band, from the Handsworth area of Birmingham, England, which has a large number of Afro-Caribbean, Indian and other Asian migrants. They originally formed at Handsworth Wood Boys School - composed of David Hinds (lead vocals, guitar), Basil Gabbidon (lead guitar, vocals), and Ronald McQueen (bass); along with Basil's brother Colin briefly on drums. Steel Pulse were the first non-Jamaican act to win the Grammy Award for Best Reggae Album.
After the band formed in 1975, their debut single release, "Kibudu, Mansetta And Abuku", arrived on the small independent label Dip, and linked the plight of urban black youth with the image of a greater African homeland. They followed it with "Nyah Luv" for Anchor. They were initially refused live dates in Caribbean venues in Birmingham due to their Rastafarian beliefs. Aligning themselves closely with the Rock Against Racism organisation and featuring in its first music festival in early 1978, they chose to tour with sympathetic elements of the punk movement, including the Stranglers, XTC etc. Eventually they found a more natural home in support slots for Burning Spear, which brought them to the attention of Island Records.
Their first release for Island was the "Ku Klux Klan" 45, a tilt at the evils of racism, and one often accompanied by a visual parody of the sect on stage. By this time their ranks had swelled to include Selwyn Brown (keyboards), Steve "Grizzly" Nisbett (drums), Alphonso Martin (vocals, percussion) and Mykaell Riley (vocals). Handsworth Revolution was a long-playing record and one of the major landmarks in the evolution of British reggae (Executive Producer Pete King). However, despite critical and moderate commercial success over three albums, the relationship with Island Records had soured by the advent of their third album, Caught You (released in the US as Reggae Fever).
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