Matumbi (band)

Matumbi
Matumbi performing in Cardiff, 1978
Background information
Origin	London, England
Genres	Reggae
Years active	1972–1982
Labels	Trojan Harvest EMI
Associated acts	The Cimarons
Past members
Ted Dixon Euton Jones Dennis Bovell Errol Pottinger Eaton "Jah" Blake Bevin Fagan Nicholas Bailey Webster Johnson Glaister Fagan Lloyd "Jah Bunny" Donaldson

Matumbi were one of top British reggae bands of the 1970s and early 1980s, and are best known as the first successful band of guitarist and record producer Dennis Bovell.

History

Matumbi formed in 1972 in South London, with a line-up of Ted Dixon (vocals), Euton Jones (drums), Dennis Bovell (guitar), Errol Pottinger (guitar), Eaton "Jah" Blake (bass guitar), Bevin Fagan (vocals), and Nicholas Bailey (vocals, later better known as Nick Straker).^[1] In the early 1970s they acted as a backing band to touring Jamaican musicians. In 1973, they opened for The Wailers at the Ethiopian famine relief concert in Edmonton, where much to their emabarrassment they went down better than the headliners, Bovell later saying "The press thought we were much better, and we felt terrible because they were our heroes."^[2] They signed to Trojan Records, and had a major breakthrough in 1976, when their version of Bob Dylan's "Man in Me" became the biggest-selling UK reggae single that year.^[1] Success brought problems for the band, with their record label unhappy about some band members other musical activities, and Bailey and Dixon left, to be replaced by Webster Johnson (keyboards). Pottinger and Jones also left the band, with Glaister Fagan and Lloyd "Jah Bunny" Donaldson joining.^[1] The new line-up signed a deal with Harvest Records, and toured with Ian Dury & the Blockheads.^[1] Matumbi recorded two sessions for John Peel's BBC Radio 1 show in 1978.^[3] The group's debut album, Seven Seals, was issued in 1978, but their second album, Point of View, was a greater success, with the title track giving the band a top 40 hit in 1979.^[1] Further albums followed between 1980 and 1982, but these did not match their earlier success. The band split up, with members moving on to various other projects; Bovell released solo material and became renowned as a producer, Donaldson joined The Cimarons, and Fagan and Blake recorded as The Squad.^[1]

Discography

Albums

• Seven Seals (1978), Harvest SHSP 4090
• Point of View (1979), EMI
• Dub Planet Orbit 1 (1980), Extinguish
• Matumbi (1981), EMI
• Testify (1982), Solid Groove

Compilations

• The Best of Matumbi (1977), Trojan
• Empire Road - the best of Matumbi (2001), EMI
• Music in the Air (2005), Trojan

Singles

• "Brother Louie" (197?), Trojan
• "Wipe Them Out" (197?), Trojan
• "After Tonight" (197?), Trojan
• "Man In Me" (1976), Trojan
• "Rock" (June 1978), Harvest HAR 5162
• "Empire Road" (September 1978), Harvest HAR 5169
• "Bluebeat & Ska" (March 1979), Harvest HAR 5174
• "Point of View (Squeeze A Little Lovin)" (September 1979), Harvest - UK #35^[4]
• "Alive & Kicking"

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d e f} Larkin, Colin (1998) The Virgin Encyclopedia of Reggae, Virgin Books, ISBN 0-7535-0242-9, p. 187
2. ^ Cumming, Tim (2006) "Dennis Bovell: The Dub Master", The Independent, 31 March 2006, retrieved 11 September 2009
3. ^ Matumbi at the BBC's Keeping it Peel site, retrieved 11 September 2009
4. ^ Matumbi, Chart Stats