The Wailers are the most legendary reggae group of all time.
Together with former lead singer Bob Marley, the Wailers have sold
in excess of 250 million albums worldwide. In England alone, they’ve
notched up over twenty chart hits, including seven Top 10 entries.
Outside of their groundbreaking work with Marley, the Wailers have
also played or performed with international acts like Sting, Kenny
Chesney, the Fugees, Stevie Wonder, Carlos Santana, and Alpha
Blondy, as well as reggae legends such as Peter Tosh, Bunny
Wailer, and Burning Spear. As the greatest living exponents of
Jamaica’s reggae tradition – still led by original bassist and musical
director Aston “Family Man” Barrett to this day – the Wailers have
completed innumerable tours, playing to an estimated 24 million
people across the globe. They have also been the first reggae band
to tour new territories on many occasions, including Africa and the
Far East.
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Their nucleus formed in 1969, when Bob Marley, Bunny “Wailer”
Livingston, and Peter Tosh recruited the Barrett brothers – bassist
Aston “Family Man” and drummer Carly – from producer Lee Perry’s
in-house band, the Upsetters, to play on hits such as “Lively Up
Yourself,” “Trenchtown Rock,” and many more. The Wailers, backed
by the Upsetters, also recorded two groundbreaking albums for
Perry – Soul Rebels and Soul Revolution – for the Trojan label. Of all
Jamaican rhythm sections, it was the Barrett brothers who had
infiltrated Jamaican music into worldwide pop charts with their work
on so many of the records that defined reggae music. So the new
Wailers were born, with the marriage between the island’s toughest
singer/songwriter and the already internationally successful Barrett
brothers’ rhythm section. Inspired by the Rastafarian religion and
driven by their ambitions of reaching an international audience, the
line-up pioneered roots rock reggae, and signed to Island Records
in 1972.
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Livingston and Tosh departed the group in 1974. At this point Bob
Marley reached out to the Barrett brothers to lead the group into their
next phase. In a musical culture in which it was the norm for
vocalists working with various rhythm secions, Marley was very
protective of his band and discouraged them from playing with other
artists. Thus the brothers assumed musical leadership of the
Wailers, backing Marley on the group’s international breakthrough
album, Natty Dread. Under Family Man’s guidance, they then
partnered with Bob Marley on the succession of hit singles and
albums that made him a global icon, including Exodus, named
“Album of the Century” by TIME Magazine in 1999, which contained
“One Love,” deemed “Song of the Millennium” by the BBC.
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Drummer Carlton “Carly” Barrett was murdered in 1987, leaving his
brother as the main beneficiary of the Wailers' mantle. Subsequent
line-ups have revolved around Family Man, who is widely regarded
as one of the world’s all-time greatest bass players, confirmed by a
recent cover feature in Bass Player magazine. Modest and
unassuming, his heartbeat bass was the foundation for all of those
unforgettable performances by Bob Marley & The Wailers from the
seventies. As Marley’s former right-hand man and the musical
director of the group, he is widely acknowledged as the sole living
musician who is credible as the Wailers' bandleader. With Fams at
the helm, they’re one of the last great reggae institutions,. Year after
year, they continue to thrill audiences worldwide, breathing new life
into their universally loved music. The current lineup includes
keyboardist Keith Sterling, guitarist Chizzy, drummer Anthony
Watson, trumpeter Chico Chin, trombonist Everald Gayle and lead
singer
Elan Atias forming the core axis of the band.
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The Wailers recently reaffirmed their continuing relevance and
versatility in modern music with a guest spot on country superstar
Kenny Chesney’s hit single “Everyone Wants to Go to Heaven,” also
appearing in the video for the song, shot in Jamaica. The band is
currently working on an album of all-new original material, due for
release sometime later this year.
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In the meantime, the Wailers continue to perform to packed
audiences around the world, including their international “Exodus”
tour, which saw the band playing the full album of the same name
onstage, selling out crowds around the world. They haven’t foregone
their social consciousness, either: they’ve spearheaded the new
charity I Went Hungry, designed to use funds designated for touring
bands’ lavish “riders” to benefit the World Food Program (WFP) in
conjunction with the United Nations – feeding thousands of starving
children around the globe.
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Legends in their own time, the Wailers continue to be an active force
in today’s music scene, not just with the undeniable influence upon
multiple generations of musicians in all genres, but the ongoing
spread of their message of peace, love and defiance that began
almost forty years ago. Their journey is far from over, and the world
is still waiting to catch the Wailers’ next move.
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L DEE & LLOYDIE ARE GIVING-AWAY TICKETS TO SEE
THE WAILERS BAND IN CONCERT @ THE RITZ M/cr
ON THURDAYS 26th NOVEMBER, 2009
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Just answer this question...
Q. WHAT'S THE NAME OF THE FORMER LEAD SINGER OF THE WAILERS...
Was it...
A. Bobby Brown & The Wailers
B. Barrack Obamah & The Wailers
C. Bob Marley & The Wailers
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ALSO 2 PAIRS OF TICKETS F anOR COCOA-BLUSH:
BLACK TIE VS HEELZ & SKIRTZ @ BIJOU M/cr
ON FRIDAY 27th NOV 2009, ...Up for grabs!
Question to be asked live on air, so make you tune in!
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CONTACT US BY TEXT//PHONE//EMAIL
OR EVEN MESSAGE US THOUGH FACE BOOK CHAT
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Listen online:
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BIGGA BREAKFAST on (allfm)96.6 ...Every Tues morning 7 - 9am
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