- Musical Youth
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Musical Youth 
Frontman Dennis Seaton in 2005Background information Origin Birmingham, UK Genres Reggae, Disco Years active 1979-1985
2001-presentLabels MCA Website www.musicalyouth.net Members Michael Grant
Kelvin Grant
Dennis Seaton
Freddie "Junior" WaitePast members Patrick Waite Musical Youth are a British reggae band. The group originally formed in 1979 at Duddeston Manor School in Birmingham, UK.[1] They are best remembered for their successful 1982 Grammy-nominated single, "Pass the Dutchie". The group featured two sets of brothers, Kelvin and Michael Grant, plus Junior and Patrick Waite. The latter pair's father, Frederick Waite, was a former member of Jamaican group The Techniques, and sang lead with Junior at the start of the group's career in the late 1970s.[1] They received a Grammy Award nomination for Best New Artist at the Grammy Awards of 1984.
Contents
Biography
Although schoolboys, the group managed to secure gigs at certain Birmingham pubs and released a single, "Political" / "Generals", on a local record label, 021 Records. An appearance on BBC Radio 1 disc jockey John Peel's evening show brought further attention to the group, and they were signed to MCA Records.
By that time, founding father Frederick Waite had backed down, to be replaced by Dennis Seaton as lead singer.[1] During the autumn of 1982, the group issued one of the fastest-selling singles of the year in "Pass the Dutchie". Based on the Mighty Diamonds "Pass The Koutchie" (a song about cannabis), the title had been subtly altered to feature the patois "dutchie", referring to a type of pot used for cooking.[1] This idea is reinforced throughout the political and economic overtones throughout the song about extreme poverty and Musical Youth asking the question "How does it feel when ya got no food?"[citation needed] The record went to Number 1 in the UK Singles Chart in October 1982.[2] It went on to sell over four million copies,[1] and was nominated for a Grammy Award. A U.S. Top 10 placing also followed in the Billboard Hot 100 chart.[3] The accompanying video made them the first black artists to be played on MTV.[4]
The follow-up, "Youth Of Today", reached number 13 in the UK Singles Chart, and early in 1983 "Never Gonna Give You Up" climbed to UK number 6.[2] Minor successes with "Heartbreaker" and "Tell Me Why", were succeeded by a collaboration with Donna Summer on the UK Top 20 hit, "Unconditional Love".[5]
A revival of Desmond Dekker's "007" saw them back in the Top 30, but after one final hit with "Sixteen", they fell from commercial grace.[2] They subsequently split up in 1985 when Seaton left the band.[1] The Grant brothers remained involved in the music industry, while Seaton released a solo album in 1989, before going on to form his own band, XMY.
Plans to re-form were initially scotched when on 18 February 1993, Patrick Waite, who had gone on to a career of juvenile crime, died in Birmingham,[6] aged 24, of a hereditary heart condition, whilst awaiting a court appearance on drug charges.[1] He is buried at Brandwood End Cemetery. In 2001, Musical Youth reformed. They were set to perform on the 'Here & Now' tour, which was to feature performances by other musicians from the 1980s. However, because of the 11 September terrorist attacks in New York, the tour was cancelled.
However, by 2003 Musical Youth were back, appearing in a 1980s nostalgia tour. By 2005, now reduced to just a duo of Michael Grant and Dennis Seaton, they performed at the Wiesen festival in Austria.
Band members
- Michael Grant - born 7 January 1969, Ontario, Canada - keyboards, vocals
- Kelvin Grant - born 9 July 1971, Birmingham - guitar, vocals
- Dennis Seaton - born 2 March 1967 - lead vocals, percussion
- Patrick Waite - (16 May 1968 – 13 February 1993)[7] - bass, vocals
- Freddie "Junior" Waite - born 23 May 1967 - drums, vocals
Discography
Albums
Year Album Chart positions Certifications/Sales Label UK US US
R&B1982 The Youth of Today 24 23 11 MCA 1983 Different Style! — 144 25 Compilation albums
- Anthology (1994)
- The Best Of Musical Youth ... Maximum Volume (1995)
- The Best Of Musical Youth (20th Century Masters - The Millennium Collection) (2004)
Singles
Charting singles
Year Single UK US US
R&BCertification 1982 "Pass The Dutchie" 1 10 8 - UK: Gold
"Youth of Today" 13 — — 1983 "Never Gonna Give You Up" 6 — — "Heartbreaker" 44 — 68 "Tell Me Why" 33 — — "007" 26 — — 1984 "Sixteen" 23 — — "She's Trouble" — 65 — Music videos
Year Video Director 1982 "Pass the Dutchie" Don Letts References
- ^ a b c d e f g "Biography by Craig Harris". Allmusic.com. http://www.allmusic.com/artist/p2920. Retrieved 20 February 2009.
- ^ a b c Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 384. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
- ^ Allmusic.com - Charts & Awards (singles)
- ^ Petridis, Alexis (2003) "Famous for 15 Months", The Guardian, 21 March 2003, retrieved 2010-05-30
- ^ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 539. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
- ^ Deaths England and Wales 1984-2006
- ^ Tragic One-Hit Wonder Daily Mail 18 February 1993
- ^ http://www.bpi.co.uk/certifiedawards/search.aspx
External links
Categories:- MCA Records artists
- Child musical groups
- British reggae musical groups
- British boy bands
- Black British musicians
- English people of Jamaican descent
- Music from Birmingham, West Midlands
- Musical groups from Birmingham, West Midlands
- Musical groups established in 1979
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