Sylvia Tella (born Silifatu Mornii Wehabie Tella in 1961) is a British

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, Coli ...

singer, who after working as a backing band vocalist for

Boney M Boney M. was a German- Caribbean vocal group that specialized in disco and funk created by German record producer Frank Farian, who was the group's primary songwriter. Originally based in West Germany, the four original members of the grou ...

embarked on a successful solo career, releasing her first album in 1981. She had a

top 40 In the music industry, the Top 40 is the current, 40 most-popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "Top 40" or "conte ...

hit in 1989 in collaboration with

the Blow Monkeys The Blow Monkeys are a British new wave/ sophisti-pop band that formed in 1981. The first single, "Live Today Love Tomorrow," was released in 1982. They subsequently enjoyed a successful career with several hit singles and albums across the ...

and again in 1990/1991 with

Pop Will Eat Itself Pop Will Eat Itself are an English alternative rock band formed in 1986 in Stourbridge in the West Midlands of England with members from Birmingham, Coventry and the Black Country. Initially known as a grebo act, they changed style to incorp ...

Biography

Born in 1961 in

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...

, England to Nigerian parents, Tella's career began as a part of the Black Beautiful Circus. A backing band that supported Boney M. during their live concerts in the period 1977 – 1979. She was briefly part of a quartet "Anderson" who sang at the 1979 Irish final for the Eurovision Song Contest along with Ian Campbel, Sally Kemp and Alan Brown with the song "Goodbye". After the Black Beautiful Circus split up, she recorded as a solo artist, initially under the guidance of veteran reggae artist

Lloyd Charmers Lloyd Charmers (born Lloyd Tyrell, 1938 – 27 December 2012, also known as Lloyd Chalmers, Lloyd Terell, or Lloyd Terrell)Ruddock, George (2012), ''Jamaica Gleaner'', 29 December 2012. Retrieved 29 December 2012 was a Jamaican ska and reggae ...

.Larkin, Colin (2006) ''The Encyclopedia of Popular Music'', Oxford University Press Her 1981 debut album, ''Spell'', became one of the best-selling lovers rock albums of all time.Barrow, Steve & Dalton, Peter (2004) ''The Rough Guide to Reggae, 3rd edn.'', Rough Guides, , p. 400 In 1983 she provided backing vocals on the

Alton Ellis Alton Nehemiah Ellis (1 September 1938 – 10 October 2008)Godfather ...

album ''Daydreaming''. In the late 1980s she had a major success on the UK reggae chart with "Spell", and contributed to a charity record in aid of victims of

Hurricane Gilbert Hurricane Gilbert was the second most intense tropical cyclone on record in the Atlantic basin in terms of barometric pressure, only behind Hurricane Wilma in 2005. An extremely powerful tropical cyclone that formed during the 1988 Atlantic hurri ...

released under the collective name Windjammer. She then collaborated with the Blow Monkeys, having a hit single in 1989 with "Choice" (which reached number 22), and another minor hit with "Slaves No More" (#73) three months later.Blow Monkeys Featuring Sylvia Tella
, Official Charts Sylvia provided lead vocals for ''92 °F'' on

's 1990 EP "

Very Metal Noise Pollution ''Very Metal Noise Pollution'' is an EP released by British Grebo band Pop Will Eat Itself between their albums '' This Is the Day...This Is the Hour...This Is This!'' and '' Cure for Sanity''. It was released in a very large range of different ...

" (#45) and subsequent album ''

Cure for Sanity ''Cure for Sanity'' (also known by its full title ''The Pop Will Eat Itself Cure for Sanity'') is the third studio album by English rock band Pop Will Eat Itself, released on 22 October 1990 by RCA Records. Upon its release, the album entered the ...

'' (#33), and backing vocals for the single version of ''92 °F'' which reached 22 in the singles charts in 1991. In 1996 she had several successes on the reggae chart both with Vivian Jones, and solo with "Searching for the One" and "Happy Home". In 1997 she toured internationally with Saint and Campbell, appeared at London's Notting Hill Carnival alongside

Beenie Man Anthony Moses Davis (born 22 August 1973), better known by his stage name Beenie Man, is a Jamaican Dancehall deejay. Biography Davis was born in the Waterhouse district of Kingston in 1973.Moskowitz, David V. (2006) ''Caribbean Popular Musi ...

and the Main Street Crew, and received a nomination for Best British Reggae Artist at the

MOBO Awards The MOBO Awards (Music of Black Origin, also known as the MOBOs) are an annual British music award presentation honouring achievements in " music of black origin", including hip hop, grime, UK Drill, R&B, soul, reggae, jazz, gospel, and ...

. A second album was issued in 2000, recorded mostly in New York City and produced by

Sidney Mills Sidney Mills (born 1959) is a British Jamaican musician, performing mostly within the reggae genre and best known as a member of the roots reggae band Steel Pulse. Mills was born in the United Kingdom and moved to Jamaica as a child. He was rais ...

Steel Pulse Steel Pulse are a roots reggae band from the Handsworth area of Birmingham, England. They originally formed at Handsworth Wood Boys School, and were composed of David Hinds (lead vocals, guitar), Basil Gabbidon (lead guitar, vocals), and Ro ...

Discography

*''Spell'' (1981), Sarge *''Tella – Like it Is'' (2000), Living Room ;Compilations: *''Sylvia Tella Collection'' (1995), Stingray *''Reggae Max'' (1998), Jet Star

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tella, Sylvia 20th-century Black British women singers Musicians from Manchester Living people English people of Nigerian descent 1961 births