Jean Adebambo (1 July 1962 – 15 January 2009''Africa Woman'', Issues 31-36, 1981 (via Google Books)Lokko, Andres (2009) Jean Adebambo har glömts bort (Swedish), ''
Svenska Dagbladet
(, "The Swedish Daily News"), abbreviated SvD, is a daily List of Swedish newspapers, newspaper published in Stockholm, Sweden.
History and profile
The first issue of appeared on 18 December 1884. During the beginning of the 1900s the pap ...
'', 13 March 2009, retrieved 2012-06-05) was a British singer, best known for songs in the
lovers rock
Lovers rock is a style of reggae music noted for its romantic sound and content. While love songs had been an important part of reggae since the late 1960s, the style was given a greater focus and a name in London in the mid-1970s.Larkin, Col ...
Islington
Islington ( ) is an inner-city area of north London, England, within the wider London Borough of Islington. It is a mainly residential district of Inner London, extending from Islington's #Islington High Street, High Street to Highbury Fields ...
, London, to a
Montserrat
Montserrat ( , ) is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory in the Caribbean. It is part of the Leeward Islands, the northern portion of the Lesser Antilles chain of the West Indies. Montserrat is about long and wide, wit ...
ian mother and a
Nigeria
Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...
n father. Her entry into the music business was by chance; she was invited to do a cover version of two records entitled "Again" and "Reunited" by Ital Records in the early 1980s, while she was studying to be a
nurse
Nursing is a health care profession that "integrates the art and science of caring and focuses on the protection, promotion, and optimization of health and human functioning; prevention of illness and injury; facilitation of healing; and alle ...
.Jean Adebambo , itzcaribbean.com, retrieved 2012-06-05
She eventually met the
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...
n producer
Leonard Chin
Leonard Chin (born Leonard Anthony Chin; 1953 in Kingston, Jamaica)Moskowitz, David V. (2006) ''Caribbean Popular Music: an Encyclopedia of Reggae, Mento, Ska, Rock Steady, and Dancehall'', Greenwood Press, , p. 5 and had a successful solo career, mainly recording for her own Ade J label.Steward, Sue & Garratt, Sheryl (1985) ''Signed, Sealed, and Delivered: True Life Stories of Women in Pop'', South End Press, , p. 70 A string of hits followed such as the singles "Reaching For A Goal", "Hardships of Life" and "Pipe Dreams". Despite all the success, Adebambo quit the music industry and went back into the medical profession and became a
health visitor
Health visitors are professional individuals engaged in public health work within the domestic setting, predominantly found in countries with state-funded health systems. They are distinct from district nurses, who provide clinical healthcare, do ...
in
Bermondsey
Bermondsey ( ) is a district in southeast London, part of the London Borough of Southwark, England, southeast of Charing Cross. To the west of Bermondsey lies Southwark, to the east Rotherhithe and Deptford, to the south Walworth and Peckham, ...
.
A successful lovers rock concert was held in 2008 at the
Brixton Academy
Brixton Academy (originally known as the Astoria Variety Cinema, previously known as Carling Academy Brixton, currently named O2 Academy Brixton as part of a sponsorship deal with the O2 brand) is a mid-sized concert venue located in South Lon ...
, where Adebambo was persuaded to perform and restart her music career;Lovers Rock Singer Jean Adebambo Dies , bamboo.co.uk, 17 January 2009, retrieved 2012-06-05 however, she was found dead at home in
Leytonstone
Leytonstone ( ) is an area in East London, England, within the London Borough of Waltham Forest. It adjoins Wanstead to the north-east, Forest Gate to the south-east, Stratford to the south-west, Leyton to the west, and Walthamstow to the nor ...
on 15 January 2009, aged 46.Morris, Davina (2009) Tributes pour in for lovers rock queen , '' The Voice'', Issue 1356, 27 January 2009, retrieved 2012-06-05
A tribute concert was held on at
Hackney Empire
Hackney Empire is a theatre on Mare Street, in Hackney in the London Borough of Hackney. Originally designed by Frank Matcham it was built in 1901 as a music hall, and expanded in 2001. Described by ''The Guardian'' as "the most beautiful theat ...
on Sunday 15 March 2009, with the aim of raising funds to help raise her two daughters.
*"Paradise" (1980), Santic
*"Reaching for a Goal" (1981), Third World
*"Say That You Love Me" (1981), Ade J
*"Pipe Dreams" (1982), Ade J
*"Hardships of Life" (1983), Ade J
*"Tell Me" (1983), Ade J
*"I Like It" (1984), Ade J
*"Never Before" (1984), Ade J
*"I've Made Up My Mind" (1986), Ade J
*"All the Way" (1987), Ade J
*"Pain" (1987), Now Generation
*"Never Gonna Give You Up" (1987), Pioneer International