Monday, February 13, 2012

Bobby Kingdom


Another ska single on the Blue Beat laebl from 1961. Bobby Kingdom also known as Bobby Muir but further info. very slim on this artist. If you know any more do enlighten us!

Wikipedia says -

"Blue Beat Records was a label of Emile E. Shalit's Melodisc Records company. Melodisc specialised in Calypso and Mento music, and was formed in London, England in 1947, with strong ties to the West Indies. Shalit founded Blue Beat in 1960 as a label which focused on U.S inspired Jamaican Blues and R&B recordings which would later evolve into ska- after the positive response in the UK to (the then UK-based) Laurel Aitken's Melodisc release of "Lonseome Lover". He placed Sigimund "Siggy" Jackson in charge of the label, with Jackson choosing the name Blue Beat, which according to Siggy was an adaptation of "It sounds like blues and it's got a great beat" - or Blues Beat, at the time apparently a generic term for Jamaican blues music. The first release on the label was Aitken's "Boogie Rock", which was licenced from Clement "Coxsone" Dodd's Downbeat label. The distinctive blue label and silver logo first appeared with the label's third release, Higgs & Wilson's "Manny Oh". The label reached licencing agreements with the majority of the major Jamaican producers as well as releasing many home produced productions from Siggy Jackson featuring English based artists such as The Marvels. Even some Prince Buster hits like "Wash-Wash" were recorded in London, and included well known UK musicians such as Georgie Fame. The Blue Beat label released around 400 singles and over a dozen albums between 1960 and 1967, with Prince Buster becoming the label's biggest star with songs such as "Al Capone". Jackson established a Blue Beat night at The Marquee in London, and fashion accessories featuring the label's logo also became popular. Many Blue Beat recordings were played alongside soul music in dance clubs such as the Twisted Wheel in Manchester. As well as appealing greatly to the West Indian community the music also became associated with the mod youth culture of the 1960s and later in the decade it became retrospectively popular amongst a later evolution of the mod sub-culture who followed reggae music and associated with the West Indian 'rude boys' who became known as skinheads - originally a multi-racial youth culture based around music and fashion. In the late 60's and early 70's Blue Beat records became highly collectible and much sought after rarities among these youths who regarded records like Buster's Al Capone as classics."


Bobby Kingdom - That's My Girl

Bobby Kingdom - Honey Please

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