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Artist
Matumbi
12+ albums
reggaedubroots reggaelovers rockbritish reggae
about
Matumbi was a British reggae bands active during the 1970s and early 1980s remembered as the first successful band of guitarist and record producer Dennis Bovell. Their style was soulful and melodic. Great Britain has produced several great roots bands -- Steel Pulse, Aswad, Misty In Roots, and Black Slate among them but Matumbi is one of the earliest and most influential. They formed in 1971 in London at a time when roots music in Jamaica itself was just entering its prime. Formed in south London, with a line-up of Tex Dixon (vocals), Euton Jones (drums), Dennis Bovell (guitar), Errol Pottinger (guitar), Eaton "Jah" Blake (bass guitar) Bevin Fagan (vocals) (died 2008), and Nicholas Bailey (vocals, later better known as Nick Straker), initially 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. 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. The new line-up signed a deal with Harvest Records, and toured with Ian Dury & the Blockheads. Matumbi recorded two sessions for John Peel's BBC Radio 1 show in 1978. In the same year, they recorded the theme song for the BBC television series, Empire Road. The group's debut album, Seven
