Tony Etoria (born c.1954) is a Welsh singer, songwriter, music producer and actor of Jamaican descent, best known for his 1977 hit "I Can Prove It". Etoria was born in

Ely, Cardiff Ely ( from ''tref'', town + , River Ely) is a district and community in Cardiff, Wales. It is to the north of Cowbridge Road West. Caerau defines the boundary to the south as does River Ely to the east and in part to the north. Roman era In R ...

. At the age of 23, he had a top 40 UK hit with the disco song "I Can Prove It". He wrote the song himself and it was later covered by

Phil Fearon Phillip Joseph Fearon (born 30 July 1956) is a Jamaican–British record producer. He was the lead singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist for the 1980s band Galaxy. Career Fearon was born in the Colony of Jamaica in 1956 and moved to Lon ...

. He went on to record for EMI and other labels. In 1978 he and his band appeared alongside

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and Budgie in the first Welsh Rock Festival, presented by

John Peel John Robert Parker Ravenscroft (30 August 1939 – 25 October 2004), better known as John Peel, was an English radio presenter and journalist. He was the longest-serving of the original disc jockeys on BBC Radio 1, broadcasting regularly from ...

BBC Wales BBC Cymru Wales is a division of the BBC and the main public broadcasting, public broadcaster in Wales. It is one of the four BBC national regions, alongside the BBC English Regions, BBC Northern Ireland and BBC Scotland. Established in 1964, ...

. He was a member of the 1980s bands Decoupage and

Osibisa Osibisa is a Ghanaian-Caribbean Afro rock band founded in London in the late 1960s by four expatriate West African and three London-based Caribbean musicians. Osibisa was the most successful and longest lived of the African-heritage bands in ...

. Etoria also opened the "Famous Studios" recording studio in Trade Street, Cardiff, where he recorded and produced some notable acts, including

Screaming Lord Sutch Screaming Lord Sutch (born David Edward Sutch, 10 November 1940 – 16 June 1999) was an English musician and perennial parliamentary candidate. He was the founder of the Official Monster Raving Loony Party and served as its leader from 1983 t ...

, Yr Anhrefn, the

Super Furry Animals Super Furry Animals are a Welsh rock band formed in Cardiff in 1993. For the duration of their professional career, the band consisted of Gruff Rhys (lead vocals, guitar), Huw Bunford (lead guitar, vocals), Guto Pryce (bass guitar), Cian C ...

and the

Boo Radleys The Boo Radleys are an English alternative rock band who were associated with the shoegazing and Britpop movements in the 1990s. They originally formed in Wallasey, England, in 1988, with singer/guitarist Simon "Sice" Rowbottom, guitarist/songwr ...

. His acting career has included appearances and writing material for the theatre companies "Welsh Fargo" and "On the Edge". He also had a regular role in the Welsh-language TV soap ''Coleg''.

Radio

*''Britain's Other Music Hall: the Story of the Blackface Minstrels'' (2009) *''The Past Master: Motown and Me'' (2009) *''Wales and the Congo - a Re-evaluation'' (2012)

Television

*''Coleg''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Etoria, Tony 1954 births Welsh actors Welsh rock singers Welsh pop singers Welsh record producers Living people Welsh people of Jamaican descent Male actors from Cardiff