Tradition are a United Kingdom-based

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

band. They enjoyed success with UK reggae audiences in the late 1970s, and were signed by

RCA Records RCA Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside Columbia Records (its former longtime rival), Arista Records and Epic R ...

. They split up in 1983 but reformed over twenty years later.

History

Tradition formed in Brent,

North West London The NW (North Western) postcode area, also known as the London NW postcode area, is a group of 13 postcode districts covering around 13,895 live postcodes within part of northwest London, England. It is the successor of the NW sector, originall ...

in 1976, initially as Special Brew.Larkin, Colin (1998) ''The Virgin Encyclopedia of Reggae'', Virgin Books, , p. 301 The original line-up comprised Chris "Buff Head" Henry (bass guitar), Paul "Echo" Thompson (keyboards, vocals), Tony "Drummie" Matthews (drums), Michael Johnson (guitar), and Grace Reed (vocals). Reed and Johnson left early in the band's history, to be replaced by Les McNeil and Paul Dawkins (bass). In 1977 the band signed to Venture Records, and released early singles including "Moving On", "Rastafari", and " Summertime". They were also one of the headline acts on the

Anti-Nazi League The Anti-Nazi League (ANL) was an organisation set up in 1977 on the initiative of the Socialist Workers Party (SWP) with sponsorship from some trade unions and the endorsement of a list of prominent people to oppose the rise of far-right g ...

's '

Rock Against Racism Rock Against Racism (RAR) was a political and cultural movement which emerged in 1976 in reaction to a rise in racist attacks on the streets of the United Kingdom and increasing support for the far-right National Front at the ballot box. Betwe ...

' tour.Bradley, Lloyd (2000) ''This is Reggae Music: The Story of Jamaica's Music'', Grove Press, New York, , p. 450 In 1978 they released a

discomix A discomix, or simply a disco, is an extended reggae 12-inch single that typically features the vocal track followed by a dub version or a deejay version of the same track.Heath, ML (2010)Joe Gibbs: 12" Reggae Discomix Showcase Volumes 4 and 5, Pop ...

12-inch single of "Why Why". The band built a reputation through their live performances, backing singers such as

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

Delroy Wilson Delroy George Wilson CD (5 October 1948 – 6 March 1995) Greene, Jo-Ann, " Delroy Wilson Biography, allmusic.com, Macrovision Corporation was a Jamaican ska, rocksteady and reggae singer. Wilson is often regarded as Jamaica's first child s ...

, Honey Boy, and

Culture Culture ( ) is a concept that encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and Social norm, norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, Social norm, customs, capabilities, Attitude (psychology), attitudes ...

, and were also used as a studio band by producer David Tyrone. They won the Best Single award from '' Echoes'' in 1978 for "Breezin'", and they signed a short-lived deal with

the same year. Dawkins left to pursue a solo career in 1979 and was replaced by Shakeel Khan. As members continued to leave the band, the swansong 1982 album ''Spirit of Ecstasy'' relied heavily on Thompson's keyboard-playing. McNeil also pursued a solo career. In the 2000s, Thompson and McNeil formed a new band, Reloaded, and in the late 2000s, Tradition reformed.

Album discography

*''Tradition in Dub''/''High Risk Dub'' (1977), BPI *''Moving On'' (1978),

RCA RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded in 1919 as the Radio Corporation of America. It was initially a patent pool, patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse Electric Corporation, Westinghou ...

/Venture *''Alternative Routes'' (1978), RCA *''Tell Your Friends About Dub'' (1978), RCA *''Captain Ganja & The Space Patrol'' (1980), Venture *''Runaway Love'' (1980), RCA *''Tradition's Party Disco Episode 1&2'' (198?), Venture *''Spirit of Ecstasy'' (1982), Solid Groove – Tradition featuring Paul Thompson

References

External links

Tradition
at Roots Archives {{DEFAULTSORT:Tradition British reggae musical groups Musical groups established in 1976 Musical groups disestablished in 1983