Reggae Regulars

Reggae Regular formed in 1976, supporting live acts from Jamaica in the UK. The line-up featured George ‘Flee’ Clark (keyboards), Allan ‘Kingping’ King (lead vocals and harmony), Anthony ‘Benjamin’ Rookwood (lead vocals and harmony), Trevor ‘Seal’ Salmon (bass), Errol ‘Sly Jnr.’ Francis (drums) and Patrick ‘Chiki’ Donegan (rhythm guitar and harmony), who were later joined by Norman Junior Ebanks (lead guitar). Initially, the group supported the Morwells on their first visit to the UK. As the group were managed at the time by Castro Brown, their skills were also utilized for the musical backing for the popular lovers rock trio 15-16-17. A change of management in 1977 led to a recording session in the UK with Lloyd ‘TCB’ Patten producing. The session resulted in one of the UK’s biggest reggae hits of the year, ‘Where Is Jah’, a haunting tribute to Rastafari. The single introduced Greensleeves Records, which has since become an exceptionally successful independent. The hit was followed by ‘The Black Star Liner’, a reference to Marcus Garvey’s projected shipping company, which was equally popular. The success of the two singles attracted the attention of CBS Records, who signed Reggae Regular, though the group suffered as a consequence. The company insisted that they become known as the Regulars, as the A&R department believed that the inclusion of the word ‘reggae’ in the group’s title would curtail their career prospects. Sadly, in spite of the promotion associated with majors, including a picture disc and gatefold album with a free 12-inch single, their popularity plummeted. The album, although produced by Lloyd ‘TCB’ Patten, was considered mediocre and they were asked to re-record their principal hit, which lost its appeal when diluted. The label decreed a change of direction influenced by the 2-Tone fad. In 1980 the release of the group’s interpretation of the Wailers’ ska hit, ‘Rude Boy Gone A Jail’, and Kenrick Patrick’s ‘Don’t Stay Out Late’ curiously surfaced on the label’s Epic subsidiary, although it had been allocated a CBS matrix number. The group disbanded, with various members concentrating on individual projects. In 1984 Trevor Salmon and Patrick Donegan returned to Greensleeves as the Reggae Regular, accompanied by Weston Salmon and Brian Campbell. The sessions were engineered by Mad Professor. In spite of the indisputable effort devoted to the project, notably ‘Violence In The Streets’, ‘Tribute To The DJ’ and ‘Aristocrat’, they were unable to match their previous achievements. Allan ‘Kingping’ King recorded, Letter From Jail and God Of Love, both of which garnered a respectable response. In the spring of 1996, Patrick Donegan released an album as the Dub Teacher, Dub Teachings Lesson One.