Dandy Livingstone, a cousin of singer Ansell Collins, was born Robert Livingstone Thompson in Kingston, Jamaica, on December 14th 1943 (1944 by some accounts). Raised in Saint Andrews, he left the island in 1959 at the age of 15, emigrating to England to join his parents in London. After completing his secondary education in Britain, Livingstone enrolled at an engineering college, in an apprenticeship program for toolmaking.
Livingstone had a piano-playing friend, Floyd, who sparked Livingstone's interest in music in 1963. Honing his talent as a singer, he jammed to Floyd's music in a West London studio most nights after school. Another tenant in their building recorded some of Livingstone's vocals and later released the songs on Planetone, unbeknownst to Livingstone. The owner of the building was Lee Gopthal, an executive at Trojan Records.
Answering the call from Carnival Records in 1964 for a reggae vocal duo, Dandy Livingstone double-tracked his own voice on a demo single "What a Life", and the track sold 25,000 units. A series of 'rude boy' hits followed for Trojan Records in the late 1960s and the early 1970s. Livingstone later altered course, becoming a record producer. Decades later Livingstone's "Rudy A Message to You," "Reggae in Your Jeggae," and others, have survived as popular classics of early British reggae and ska.
In the early 1970s, Livingstone returned to Jamaica, living there until 1973. In 1972, he recorded "Big City", and his own version of Nicky Thomas' "Suzanne Beware of the Devil," before returning to England. He scored a major hit with the latter release, which was issued as a single on Horse in 1972, and later served as the title track on a Trojan compilation album in 2002. Chartwise, it spent 11 weeks in the UK listings in 1972, peaking at No. 14. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dandy_Livingstone
11 Comments (since 9 Aug 2014)
leejohnson
Dandy Livingstone, a cousin of singer Ansell Collins, was born Robert Livingstone Thompson in Kingston, Jamaica, on December 14th 1943 (1944 by some accounts). Raised in Saint Andrews, he left the island in 1959 at the age of 15, emigrating to England to join his parents in London. After completing his secondary education in Britain, Livingstone enrolled at an engineering college, in an apprenticeship program for toolmaking.
leejohnson
Livingstone had a piano-playing friend, Floyd, who sparked Livingstone's interest in music in 1963. Honing his talent as a singer, he jammed to Floyd's music in a West London studio most nights after school. Another tenant in their building recorded some of Livingstone's vocals and later released the songs on Planetone, unbeknownst to Livingstone. The owner of the building was Lee Gopthal, an executive at Trojan Records.
leejohnson
Answering the call from Carnival Records in 1964 for a reggae vocal duo, Dandy Livingstone double-tracked his own voice on a demo single "What a Life", and the track sold 25,000 units. A series of 'rude boy' hits followed for Trojan Records in the late 1960s and the early 1970s. Livingstone later altered course, becoming a record producer. Decades later Livingstone's "Rudy A Message to You," "Reggae in Your Jeggae," and others, have survived as popular classics of early British reggae and ska.
leejohnson
In the early 1970s, Livingstone returned to Jamaica, living there until 1973. In 1972, he recorded "Big City", and his own version of Nicky Thomas' "Suzanne Beware of the Devil," before returning to England. He scored a major hit with the latter release, which was issued as a single on Horse in 1972, and later served as the title track on a Trojan compilation album in 2002. Chartwise, it spent 11 weeks in the UK listings in 1972, peaking at No. 14. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dandy_Livingstone
carrotbourke
I got this on 45! Great jam :)
Lateman
Excellent!
Sid_Bonkers
Top 70's jam Lee
boozybluesy
Great jam - loved this!
meddlingwitch
I'd forgotten all about this one.... excellent jam!
abrahem41
مقولات المبدع ابراهيم السعدي - يهتم بالبحث العلمي بما يتعلق بالفلسفة والقضايا الفكرية و.. . رؤى معاصرة من المهارات الاخرى ------------------------------------ ------------------------------------ --- --- --- --- --- --- ---
kompani101
Absolute classic track and always a huge joy to listen too.