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Grace Jones, Aswad (Brinsley Forde, Drummie Zeb and Tony Gad), the i-Threes (featuring Rita Marley, Marcia Griffiths and Erica Newell), VV Brown and Tinchy Stryder will be the featured singers with Sly & Robbie and The Compass Point All Stars on Tuesday 26th May at Shepherds Bush Empire as part of the Island 50th birthday celebrations. Each of these will perform a song or two (or even three) from Island’s illustrious back catalogue with one of the most famous Jamaican rhythm sections of all time.
Grace Jones signed to Island in 1977 and really hit her stride when Chris Blackwell suggested she work at the Island studios in Compass Point with Sly & Robbie; together they created many of her signature songs including Private Life, Pull Up To The Bumper, My Jamaican Guy and Nipple To The Bottle.
Aswad, the UK’s most successful reggae group, signed to Island in 1976 and this performance with Sly & Robbie will reunite original members Brinsley Forde, Drummie Zeb and Tony Gad for the first time since 2000.
The i-Threes were Bob Marley & The Wailers’ legendary backing singers.
VV Brown, singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist/producer and fashion darling is a recent signing to Island and will release her debut album Travelling Like The Light in June 2009.
Tinchy Stryder, another new millenium Island artist, has come from the underground grime scene to top the charts this week with his third single Number One taken from his debut album which is coming out this summer.
Island Life [supporting Amnesty International and The Oracabessa Foundation (JA)] – a week of live shows by Island artists past and present – will take place at London’s Shepherds Bush Empire week commencing 25th May 2009. NB There are no headliners at these shows; every act appears with equal billing. The Island Life line-up confirmed so far is as follows:
26th May– Sly & Robbie & The Compass Point Allstars Featuring Very Special Guests;
27th May – The Fratellis; Very Special Guest; Bombay Bicycle Club;
28th May – Cat Stevens/Yusuf And Friends, Baaba Maal
29th May – Paul Weller; Ernest Ranglin; Spooky Tooth
30th May – Keane; Tom Tom Club; Ladyhawke
31st May – Amy Winehouse; Toots & The Maytals; I Blame Coco
This competition is now closed. The winner is as follow:
Martin Ling, Middlesex, EN3
