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, Col ...

singer, who after working as a backing band vocalist for

Boney M Boney M. is a German reggae, funk and disco music group founded in 1974. It achieved popularity during the disco era in the second half of the 1970s. The band was created by German record producer Frank Farian, who was the group's primary song ...

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 a list of the 40 currently 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. "To ...

hit in 1989 in collaboration with

the Blow Monkeys The Blow Monkeys are a British pop band formed in 1981. Their first single, "Live Today Love Tomorrow", was released in 1982. They subsequently enjoyed a successful career with several hit singles and albums throughout the 1980s before split ...

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 incorpo ...

Biography

Born in 1961 in

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

, 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 The Eurovision Song Contest (), often known simply as Eurovision, is an international Music competition, song competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) among its members since 1956. Each participating broadcaster ...

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, 18 April 1946 – 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 ...

.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" (#45) and subsequent album '' Cure for Sanity'' (#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 The Notting Hill Carnival is an annual Caribbean Carnival event that has taken place in London since 1966

alongside

Beenie Man Moses Anthony Davis OD (born 22 August 1973), professionally known as Beenie Man, is a Jamaican dancehall deejay. His awards include DJ of the Year Award eight years in a row. His twelfth studio album '' Art and Life'' received a Grammy Award ...

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 Ba ...

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

Sidney Mills Sidney may refer to: People * Sidney (surname), English surname * Sidney (given name), including a list of people with the given name * Sídney (footballer, born 1963) (Sídney José Tobias), Brazilian football forward * Sidney (footballer, born ...

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 20th-century British women singers Singers from Manchester Living people English people of Nigerian descent 1961 births Boney M. members