Aswad are a British

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica during the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its Jamaican diaspora, diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, "Do the Reggay", was the first ...

group, noted for adding strong R&B and

soul The soul is the purported Mind–body dualism, immaterial aspect or essence of a Outline of life forms, living being. It is typically believed to be Immortality, immortal and to exist apart from the material world. The three main theories that ...

influences to the reggae sound. They have been performing since the mid-1970s, having released a total of 21 albums. Their UK hit singles include the number one "

Don't Turn Around "Don't Turn Around" is a Popular music, popular song written by Albert Hammond and Diane Warren. It was originally recorded by American singer Tina Turner and released as the A-side and B-side, B-side to her 1986 Hit song, hit single "Typical ...

" (1988) and " Shine" (1994). "Aswad" is

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

for "

black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

". They are three-time

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

nominees.

History

The members of Aswad are UK descendants of immigrants from the

Caribbean The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...

. They attended John Kelly/

Holland Park School Holland Park School is a coeducational Comprehensive school, comprehensive secondary school and sixth form located in Holland Park, London, England. Opened in 1958, the school was considered a flagship for comprehensive education, nicknamed 'th ...

. Aswad was formed in 1975 in

Ladbroke Grove Ladbroke Grove ( ) is a road in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London, England, which passes through Kensal Green and Notting Hill, running north–south between Harrow Road and Holland Park Avenue. It is also the name of the sur ...

area of

West London West London is the western part of London, England, north of the River Thames, west of the City of London, and extending to the Greater London boundary. The term is used to differentiate the area from the other parts of London: Central London, N ...

. The original members of Aswad were guitarist/vocalist Brinsley "Chaka B" Forde, drummer/vocalist Angus "Drummie Zeb" Gaye, lead guitarist/vocalist Donald "Dee" Griffiths, bassist George "Ras" Oban, and keyboardist Courtney "Khaki" Hemmings. Aswad were the backing band of

Burning Spear Winston Rodney Order of Distinction, OD (born 1 March 1945), better known by the stage name Burning Spear, is a Jamaican roots reggae singer-songwriter, vocalist, and musician. Burning Spear is a Rastafarian movement, Rastafarian and one of the ...

's 1977 ''

Live Live may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Live!'' (2007 film), 2007 American film * ''Live'' (2014 film), a 2014 Japanese film * ''Live'' (2023 film), a Malayalam-language film *'' Live: Phát Trực Tiếp'', a Vietnamese-langua ...

'' album, recorded at the

Rainbow Theatre The Rainbow Theatre, originally known as the Finsbury Park Astoria, then the Finsbury Park Paramount Astoria, and then the Finsbury Park Odeon, is a Grade II*-listed building in Finsbury Park, London. The theatre was built in 1930 as an "atmos ...

in London. Other contributors included Vin Gordon, and Karl Pitterson. Initially, the band produced music in the

roots reggae Roots reggae is a subgenre of reggae that deals with the everyday lives and aspirations of Ethnic groups of Africa, Africans and those in the African Diaspora, including the spiritual side of Rastafari, black liberation, revolution and the ho ...

vein, with members contributing songs individually and with Forde acting as the band's principal songwriter. The band's dynamic soon began to change however. Shortly after the release of their self-titled debut album in 1976, Hemmings left and was replaced by Tony "Gad" Robinson (the only time in the band's history where a departing member would be officially replaced by an incoming musician). The band then released their second studio effort, ''Hulet'', in 1978, before George Oban ( who later played with

and African Headcharge ) departed the band in 1979, with Robinson taking over the position of bassist as well as continuing his role as keyboardist. The following year saw Griffiths depart, leaving Forde as the band's sole guitarist. During this early period in the band's history they were distinctly different from Jamaican reggae acts, in that they wrote songs that dealt with the issues surrounding the experiences of black youths growing-up in the UK; such as "Three Babylon" and "It's Not Our Wish","Natural Progression", "Ghetto in the Sky". and the powerful

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

-influenced

instrumental An instrumental or instrumental song is music without any vocals, although it might include some inarticulate vocals, such as shouted backup vocals in a big band setting. Through Semantic change, semantic widening, a broader sense of the word s ...

"Warrior Charge", which is still much played by

sound systems worldwide. The band continued making

and dub music, and in 1985, released '' Jah Shaka Meets Aswad in

Addis Ababa Addis Ababa (; ,) is the capital city of Ethiopia, as well as the regional state of Oromia. With an estimated population of 2,739,551 inhabitants as of the 2007 census, it is the largest city in the country and the List of cities in Africa b ...

Studio.'' Once the band's line-up had stabilised into the trio of Forde, Gaye, and Robinson, Aswad followed a more commercial reggae style, gaining a wider audience with the ''New Chapter'' album (1981). They then followed this with the Michael Reuben Campbell-produced '' A New Chapter of Dub'' LP which was a dub of the entire ''New Chapter'' album. Clifton "Bigga" Morrison of

Prince Far I Prince Far I (23 March 1945 – 15 September 1983) was a Jamaican reggae deejay and producer, and a Rastafarian. He was known for his gruff voice and critical assessment of the Jamaican government. His track "Heavy Manners" used lyrics abou ...

's band, The Arabs, played bass on some of the tracks. ''Not Satisfied'' was a London roots-reggae album released in 1982. In August 1983, Aswad played live at Meanwhile Gardens on the Sunday of the

Notting Hill Carnival The Notting Hill Carnival is an annual Caribbean Carnival event that has taken place in London since 1966

; the resulting live album ''Live and Direct'' is a faithful record of that event, where they played a live dub set. "Love Fire" gained wide recognition when it was used as the backing rhythm for

Dennis Brown Dennis Emmanuel Brown CD (1 February 1957 – 1 July 1999) was a Jamaican reggae singer. During his prolific career, which began in the late 1960s when he was aged eleven, he recorded more than 75 albums and was one of the major stars of l ...

's "Promised Land". Among Aswad's catalogue of hits is "

", a UK No. 1 hit in 1988, originally recorded by

Tina Turner Tina Turner (born Anna Mae Bullock; November 26, 1939 – May 24, 2023) was a singer, songwriter, actress, and author. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Rock 'n' Roll", her vocal prowess, raspy voice, and electrifyin ...

as a

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph record, vinyl records and Compact cassette, cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a Single (music), single usually ...

to her " Typical Male" single. They followed this up with UK No. 11 hit "Give a Little Love", and a reggae-flavoured rendition of " Best of My Love", first popularised and written by

The Eagles The Eagles are an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1971. With five number-one singles, six number-one albums, six Grammy Awards and five American Music Awards, the Eagles were one of the most successful musical acts of the 1970s in ...

. In 1989, they contributed the single "Set Them Free" to the

Greenpeace Greenpeace is an independent global campaigning network, founded in Canada in 1971 by a group of Environmental movement, environmental activists. Greenpeace states its goal is to "ensure the ability of the Earth to nurture life in all its biod ...

''Rainbow Warriors'' album. In the same year, they performed together with

Cliff Richard Sir Cliff Richard (born Harry Rodger Webb; 14 October 1940) is a British singer and actor. He has total sales of over 21.5 million singles in the United Kingdom and, as of 2012, was the third-top-selling artist in UK Singles Chart histo ...

the song "Share a Dream", recorded the previous year, at

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium, currently branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE Limited, EE for sponsorship reasons, is an association football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Sta ...

as part of The Event (16 and 17 June 1989). Their next single, " Shine", was released in 1994 and was a big hit in much of Europe. Another track was the upbeat 1998 remake of

The Police The Police were an English rock band formed in London in 1977. Within a few months of their first gig, the line-up settled as Sting (lead vocals, bass guitar, primary songwriter), Andy Summers (guitar) and Stewart Copeland (drums, percussi ...

's " Invisible Sun", performed with Sting. The band also hold the distinction of having played with each one of the ex- Wailers. The band has toured extensively, playing in diverse locations from London's

Royal Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London, England. It has a seating capacity of 5,272. Since the hall's opening by Queen Victoria in 1871, the world's leading artists from many performance genres ...

and

Montego Bay Montego Bay () is the capital of the Parishes of Jamaica, parish of Saint James Parish, Jamaica, St. James in Jamaica. The city is the fourth most populous urban area in the country, after Kingston, Jamaica, Kingston, Spanish Town, and Portmore ...

's Reggae Sunsplash, to gigs in West Africa,

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

and Japan. Aswad underwent their first line-up change in sixteen years in 1996, when Forde departed the band for spiritual reasons, leaving Gaye as the only founding member. Once again, the remaining members opted not to seek to recruit a replacement musician, and thus Aswad became a duo of Gaye and Robinson. With the exception of a brief reunion with Forde in 2009 for the Island record label's 50th-anniversary celebrations, the band's line-up remained the same until Angus Gaye’s death on 2 September 2022, aged 62. Aswad released their final studio album to date in 2009, with ''City Lock''. They released the singles "What Is Love?" and "Do That Thing" in the same year. Aswad toured the UK in Spring 2025, including playing at the Lambeth Country Show, at

Butlins Butlin's is a chain of large Seaside resort, seaside resorts in the United Kingdom, incorporated as Butlins Skyline Limited. Butlin's was founded by Billy Butlin to provide affordable holidays for ordinary British families. Between 1936 and 1 ...

resorts,

Bournemouth Bournemouth ( ) is a coastal resort town in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole unitary authority area, in the ceremonial county of Dorset, England. At the 2021 census, the built-up area had a population of 196,455, making it the largest ...

's Reggae Weekender, and with

Ali Campbell Alistair Ian Campbell (born 15 February 1959) is an English singer and songwriter who was lead singer and co-founder of the British reggae band UB40. UB40 sold more than 70 million records worldwide and toured for 30 years with the original l ...

UB40 UB40 are an English reggae band, formed in December 1978 in Birmingham, England. The band has had more than 50 singles in the UK Singles Chart and has also achieved considerable international success. They have been nominated for the Grammy ...

Colchester Castle Colchester Castle is a Norman architecture, Norman castle in Colchester, Essex, England, dating from the second half of the eleventh century. The keep of the castle is mostly intact and is the largest example of its kind anywhere in Europe, d ...

Members

;Current members * Tony "Gad" Robinson - bass, keyboards, vocals (1976-present) ;Former members * Brinsley "Dan" Forde – vocals, lead & rhythm guitars (1975–1996, 2009) * Angus "Drummie Zeb" Gaye – vocals, drums (1975–2022; his death) * Donald "Dee" Griffiths – lead guitars (1975–1980) * Courtney "Khaki" Hemmings – keyboards (1975–1976) * George "Ras" Oban – bass (1975–1979) ;Additional musicians * Stanley Andrew – lead guitars, rhythm guitars, acoustic guitars, vocals * Clifton "Bigga" Morrison – vocals, keyboards, melodica * Martin "Tatta" Augustine – lead guitars * John Kpiaye – guitars * Jimmy "Senyah" Haynes – lead guitars, acoustic guitars * Michael "Bammie" Rose – saxophone * Vin "Trommie" Gordon – trombone * Eddie "Tan Tan" Thornton – trumpet * Carlton "Bubblers" Ogilvie – keyboards * Jimmy "J-Slice" Neath – trumpet * Paul Garred – guitars * Michael Martin – keyboards * Patrick Tenyue – trumpet * Henry 'Buttons' Tenyue – trombone * Brian Edwards – saxophone * Trevor “T-BoNe” Jones – trombone * Perry "Lion" Melius – drums * Kenrick Rowe – drums * Paul Slowley – drums

Discography

Production work

Ace of Base Ace of Base is a Swedish pop group formed in 1987, originally consisting of siblings Jonas, Linn, and Jenny Berggren, with Ulf Ekberg. They achieved worldwide success following the release of their debut album, '' Happy Nation'', in 1992. L ...

remix of "

" (No.5 hit in the UK) * Vanessa Mae – "Classical Gas" (#41 in UK) * Janet Kay – "Missing You"

References

External links