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WOMADELAIDE 2001
program highlights
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Pato Banton and the Reggae Revolution (UK) |
| In the UK, Birmingham
and the Midlands have a proud reggae tradition that has produced artists
of global repute like UB40, Steel Pulse, The Beat and Pato Banton, aka
Patrick Murray. Charismatic performer, Pato, is famous worldwide
for his take on much-loved reggae classics, plus a string of his own hits.
His career to date has seen a stream of chart topping hits and his unique
talent has attracted mega artists such as Sting, Aswad and UB40 to feature
on his tracks. Starting out as MC on his father’s raving Reggae sound
system, V-Rocket, the young Pato Banton came to the attention of The Beat’s
Rankin’ Roger at a local talent contest. The two struck up a lasting
relationship and Roger produced a track for Pato called Hello Tosh,
Got A Toshiba, which reached No 3 on the independent reggae charts.
This led to collaborations with UB40 on their album ‘Little Baggariddum’
and Pato’s first album Never Give In. A number one hit in
Peru, five years of subsequent touring, and more solo albums, including
Vision
of the World, 1989, and Wize Up (No Compromise) featuring Aswad’s
Drummie Zeb and David Hind from Steel Pulse, saw Pato’s popularity
grow to such a degree that he was invited to support Ziggy Marley on a
US tour. In 1994 Pato released Collections which featured
his collaboration with Ali and Robin Campbell of UB40, Baby Come Back,
a worldwide hit and UK No 1, and still stands as one of the biggest selling
records in Brazil’s history. Since then Pato has collaborated with
Sting on the re-mix of ‘This Cowboy Song’, and the Police classic
‘Spirits
in the Material World’ which was included in the Jim Carrey move Ace
Ventura – When Nature Calls, and release further solo albums including
Legalize
It in 1999. One of Pato’s next ventures is to Hollywood,
where his music is up for consideration in a major movie. Back home
in Birmingham, he works with local artists helping them to get their first
big break in the music industry. |
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