Barrington Levy

BARRINGTON LEVY

Plus special guests TIPPA IRIE

Friday 1st May // Chalk // Brighton Doors 6.00pm

Barrington Levy is a pioneering Jamaican reggae and dancehall artist known as the "Mellow Canary" for his high-pitched, melodic vocals. Rising to fame in the late 1970s, he is credited with helping to establish the dancehall sound through his collaborations with producer Henry "Junjo" Lawes and the Roots Radics band. His career began at age 14 with the hit single "Collie Weed" in 1979. He released a string of landmark albums in the early 1980s, including Englishman (1979) and Bounty Hunter (1979). Some of his most enduring hits include "Here I Come" (famous for its "shoo-be-doo" ad-libs), "Murderer," "Under Mi Sensi," "Black Roses," and "Too Experienced". Levy's voice has been widely sampled in jungle and drum 'n' bass music. He has also collaborated with artists outside of reggae, such as Snoop Dogg, Gorillaz, and Shyne. In 2023, Rolling Stone ranked him at number 119 on its list of the 200 Greatest Singers of All Time.

TIPPA IRIE Tippa Irie is a British reggae singer and DJ from Brixton, London. He first came to prominence in the early 1980s as an MC on the South London reggae soundsystem Saxon Studio International. He first achieved national exposure on night-time BBC Radio 1 in the mid-1980s, with the singles "It's Good To Have The Feeling You're The Best" and "Complain Neighbour" (on Greensleeves Records), before achieving a UK Top 40 hit in 1986 with "Hello Darling". He has collaborated with Alexander O'Neal, Long Beach Dub All Stars, The Skints, and Chali 2na. He enjoyed further success in 2003, when he appeared on The Black Eyed Peas' track "Hey Mama" He has also collaborated with the London-based avant-dancehall outfit The Bug, on the single "Angry" from the album London Zoo.