The In Crowd are a popular

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of Hispan ...

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

showband who had their commercial peak in the late 1970s, best known for the singles "We Play Reggae" and "Back a Yard". They split up in the 1980s but reformed in 2014 to record a new album.

History

Led by Filberto "Fil" Callender (vocals and lead guitar), the band also included Errol Walker (lead vocals), Clevie Browne (drums, vocals), Tony Lewis (bass guitar, vocals), Freddie Butler (keyboards), and Wigmore Francis (guitar). The band also featured a horn section of Egbert Evans and Barry Bailey.Larkin, Colin:"The Virgin Encyclopedia of Reggae", 1998, Virgin Books, Browne had previously been a member of The Browne Bunch. The band were best known for two hit records, "We Play Reggae" and "Back a Yard", but also had reggae hits with "His Majesty Is Coming" and "Born In Ethiopia".Barrow, Steve & Dalton, Peter:"The Rough Guide to Reggae 3rd edn.", 2004, Rough Guides, They recorded two albums during their lifetime, ''His Majesty Is Coming'' and ''Man From New Guinea'', the latter released on

Island Records Island Records is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded in 1959 by Chris Blackwell, Graeme Goodall, and Leslie Kong in Jamaica, and was eventually sold to PolyGram in 1989. Island and A&M Records, an ...

. After The In Crowd, Browne became half of one of Jamaica's pre-eminent rhythm sections and production teams, Steely & Clevie. Errol Walker now works on the 7th floor of the Financial Services Authority as an events planner and social coordinator in the Diversity team. The group reformed in 2014 to record a new album.

Fil Callender

Callender was born in

Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Co ...

and moved with his family to Jamaica in the 1950s.Campbell, Howard (2013)
Callender Beats – Drummer gets recognition
, ''

The Jamaica Observer ''Jamaica Observer'' is a daily newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety ...

'', 14 August 2013. Retrieved 18 August 2013 He grew up in the Molynes Road area of

Kingston Kingston may refer to: Places * List of places called Kingston, including the five most populated: ** Kingston, Jamaica ** Kingston upon Hull, England ** City of Kingston, Victoria, Australia ** Kingston, Ontario, Canada ** Kingston upon Thames, ...

. After attending rehearsals at the home of pianist

Aubrey Adams Aubrey Wellington Adams (17 June 1920 – 6 August 1990) was a Jamaican pianist and keyboard player who was one of the top bandleaders in Jamaica in the 1950s, and led the Dewdroppers as well as playing with Clue J & His Blues Blasters. Biograp ...

he met

Eric Frater The given name Eric, Erich, Erikk, Erik, Erick, or Eirik is derived from the Old Norse name ''Eiríkr'' (or ''Eríkr'' in Old East Norse due to monophthongization). The first element, ''ei-'' may be derived from the older Proto-Norse ''* ain ...

who recruited him as drummer to his band The Virtues. Through Frater he got the job of drummer in the

Studio One Studio One or Studio 1 may refer to: * Studio One (software), digital audio workstation software, developed by PreSonus * ''Studio One'' (American TV series), a 1948–1958 American television anthology series * ''Studio One'' (Emirati TV progra ...

house band, of which he was a member for three years. While at Studio One he played drums on

The Abyssinians The Abyssinians are a Jamaican roots reggae group, famous for their close harmonies and promotion of the Rastafari movement in their lyrics. History The vocal trio was originally formed in 1968 by Bernard Collins and Donald Manning. Their fir ...

' " Satta Massagana", and on hit singles by The Heptones among others, and guitar on The Slickers' "

Johnny Too Bad The Slickers were a Jamaican rocksteady and reggae group in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The Slickers centred on Derrick Crooks, one of the founding members of The Pioneers along with his brother Sydney. In the mid-1960s, The Slickers consi ...

". After The In Crowd he went on to a solo career. In 1980 he became a committed Christian and since then has played mainly in church bands. In 2013, Callender was awarded the

Order of Distinction The Order of Distinction is a national order in the Jamaican honours system. It is the sixth in order of precedence of the Orders of Societies of Honour, which were instituted by an Act of Parliament (''The National Honours and Awards Act'') i ...

by the Jamaican government in recognition of his contribution to Jamaican music.Campbell, Howard (2013)
Honours in Order
, ''

'', 7 August 2013. Retrieved 10 August 2013

Albums

*''His Majesty Is Coming'' (1978) Cactus/Creole (reissued (2005) Trojan) *''Man From New Guinea'' (1979)

Island An island or isle is a piece of subcontinental land completely surrounded by water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island in a river or a lake island may be ...

*''Natural Rock 'n' Reggae'' (198?) Revue (compilation) *''We Play Reggae: A Tribute'' (1997) Rhino (compilation)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:In Crowd Jamaican reggae musical groups