Musical Youth
Template:Short description Template:Use dmy dates Template:Use British English Template:Infobox musical artist Musical Youth are a British reggae band formed in 1979 in Birmingham, England. They are best known for their 1982 single "Pass the Dutchie", which was number 1 in multiple charts around the world. Their other hits include "Youth of Today", "Never Gonna Give You Up", and a collaboration with Donna Summer, "Unconditional Love". Musical Youth recorded two albums and earned a Grammy Award nomination before disbanding in 1985 after a series of personal problems. The band returned in 2001 as a duo.
History
The group was formed in 1979 by the fathers of Kelvin and Michael Grant, and Frederick (known as Junior) and Patrick Waite, respectively, who put together a band featuring their sons.<ref name="biography2">Template:Cite web</ref> The Waites' father, Frederick Waite Sr., had been a member of the Jamaican reggae group the Techniques. At the start of Musical Youth's career, he sang lead with Junior. Musical Youth were influenced by reggae artists such as Sugar Minott, Aswad, Gregory Isaacs, Dennis Brown, John Holt and Beshara.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Although schoolboys (attending Duddeston Manor School<ref name="reggaetrain">Template:Cite web</ref>), the group managed to secure gigs at different Birmingham pubs and released a double single in 1981, including songs "Generals" and "Political", on a local label 021 Records, named after the then-Birmingham area code. An appearance on BBC Radio 1 John Peel's evening show brought further attention to the group, and they were signed to MCA Records.<ref name="biography2"/> By that time, Frederick Waite Jr. was replaced by Dennis Seaton as the group's lead singer.
In September 1982, the group issued the single "Pass the Dutchie", adapted from the Mighty Diamonds' "Pass the Kouchie".<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The record went to number one in the UK Singles Chart in October 1982,<ref name="British Hit Singles & Albums">Template:Cite book</ref> as well as Ireland, The Netherlands, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada. It also reached the top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the United States, and went on to sell over four million copies.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Musical Youth would also be the first black act to have a music video played on the newly founded channel MTV.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="Nott">Template:Cite news</ref> Their debut album The Youth of Today, released in the same year, placed in the top 40 in the UK, West Germany and the US, and the top 10 in Canada. It was certified gold in the UK and Canada. The follow-up singles, "Youth of Today", released at the end of the year, and "Never Gonna Give You Up", released early in 1983, reached number 13 and 6 in the UK, respectively,<ref name="British Hit Singles & Albums"/> and were moderately successful in the international charts. The next single, "Heartbreaker", was only a minor UK success.
The band released the new single "Tell Me Why" in mid-1983, a cover of a 1974 John Holt song, which reached the top 40 in several European countries. The follow-up, a cover of Desmond Dekker's "007" was a moderate hit only in the British market. In the meantime, the group featured on Donna Summer's song "Unconditional Love" which was a hit in the UK, reaching number 14.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> They also took part in her 1983 TV special A Hot Summer Night with Donna. Musical Youth's second album, Different Style!, was released in 1983 and showcased a more R&B-influenced repertoire to make the band more accessible in North America. It was reflected in the lead single in that market, "She's Trouble", but it only achieved minor success. The album itself turned out a commercial failure on both European and American markets, though the band received a nomination for the Best New Artist award at the 26th Grammy Awards.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> After one final UK hit in early 1984 with "Sixteen", featuring Jody Watley, their commercial success ended and the next two singles, "Whatcha Talking 'Bout" and "Let's Go to the Moon", penned by Stevie Wonder and Eddy Grant, respectively,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> failed to enter the charts.
With their careers going downhill, the band members became embroiled in legal, financial and personal problems.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="annecarlini">Template:Cite web</ref> In 1985, Dennis Seaton left the band, leading to its dissolution.<ref name="reggaetrain"/> In 1989, he released a solo album Imagine That... which passed without success. Plans for a reunion of Musical Youth were halted when Patrick Waite suddenly died in February 1993, at the age of 24, having collapsed at home from a hereditary heart condition, awaiting court appearance.<ref name="biography2"/><ref name="Nott"/> 1994 saw the release of a compilation album, Anthology, and a single with remixes of "Pass the Dutchie", followed by another compilation, Maximum Volume... The Best of Musical Youth, in 1995. Michael Grant co-founded the band 5am which released two singles in 1996, and went on to produce remixes for Da Brat, Kelly Rowland, and Lemar, among others. In 2000, they founded 5am Records, a label focused mainly on R&B and gospel music.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Seaton formed his own band, XMY, and opened a car rental company. Junior Waite had been suffering from mental illness, and his former bandmates stated that he was unlikely to recover.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
In 2001, Dennis Seaton and Michael Grant reformed Musical Youth as a duo. The planned tour was cancelled due to the September 11 attacks,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> but in 2003, the band performed as part of the Here and Now tour, an annual series of nostalgia concerts featuring musicians of the 1980s.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> They featured on Pato Banton's 2004 single "Pretty Woman", and performed at a festival in Wiesen, Austria in 2005. The band's new music was made available for purchase exclusively from their website.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 2008, Musical Youth released a re-recorded version of "Pass the Dutchie", followed by a cover of Boney M.'s "Mary's Boy Child – Oh My Lord" in 2009, and Jimmy Cliff's "The Harder They Come" in 2013. The latter was the lead single from their new album, initially titled Reggae for the People and later renamed When Reggae Was King. It was scheduled for release in 2016, but after several pushbacks, it was eventually released on CD in March 2018<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and in digital distribution in 2020.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Former member Kelvin Grant has continued a solo career, performing and releasing new material,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> most recently the album Defend Them in 2018.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Frederick Waite Jr. (born on 23 May 1967) died in Birmingham on 20 July 2022, at the age of 55.<ref name="NME">Template:Cite web</ref> His death was announced on 11 August.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> An inquest into his death recorded the cause of death as "sudden unexpected death in schizophrenia". He died at a mental health unit where he had been undergoing treatment for schizophrenia.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Band members
- Frederick Waite Sr. — lead vocals (1979-1981)
- Dennis Seaton — lead vocals and percussion (1982–1985; 2001–present)
- Michael Grant — keyboard and backing vocals (1979–1985; 2001–present)
- Kelvin Grant — electric guitar and backing vocals (1979–1985)
- Freddie "Junior" Waite — drums and backing vocals (1979–1985; Template:Small)
- Patrick Waite — bass guitar (1979–1985; Template:Small)
Discography
Studio albums
| Year | Title | Peak chart positions | Certifications | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK <ref name="officialcharts.com">Template:Cite web</ref> |
AUS <ref name="aus">Template:Cite book</ref> |
CAN <ref>Peak albums positions in Canada:
|
GER <ref name="ger">Template:Cite web</ref> |
NL <ref name="dutchcharts.nl">Template:Cite web</ref> |
NZ <ref name="charts.org.nz">Template:Cite web</ref> |
US <ref>Peak albums positions in the United States:
|
US R&B <ref name=":1">Template:Cite book</ref> | |||
| 1982 | The Youth of Today | 24 | 80 | 8 | 23 | 23 | 42 | 23 | 11 |
|
| 1983 | Different Style! | — | — | 90 | — | — | — | 144 | 50 | |
| 2018 | When Reggae Was King | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
Compilations
- 1987: Pass the Dutchie
- 1994: Anthology
- 1995: Maximum Volume... The Best of Musical Youth
- 2004: 20th Century Masters – The Millennium Collection: The Best of Musical Youth
EPs
- 2011: Christmas EP
Singles
| Year | Title | Peak chart positions | Certifications | Album | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK <ref name="officialcharts.com"/> |
AUS <ref name="aus"/> |
BEL <ref>Template:Cite web</ref> |
CAN <ref>Peak singles positions in Canada:
|
GER <ref name="ger"/> |
IRE <ref>Template:Cite web</ref> |
NL <ref name="dutchcharts.nl"/> |
NZ <ref name="charts.org.nz"/> |
US <ref>Peak singles positions in the United States:
|
US R&B <ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> | ||||
| 1981 | "Generals"/"Political" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Template:N/a | |
| 1982 | "Pass the Dutchie" | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 10 | 8 |
|
The Youth of Today |
| "Youth of Today" | 13 | 99 | 7 | — | 29 | 9 | 4 | 19 | — | — | |||
| 1983 | "Never Gonna Give You Up" | 6 | — | 28 | — | — | 5 | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Heartbreaker" | 44 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 68 | |||
| "Tell Me Why" | 33 | — | 35 | — | — | 20 | 31 | — | — | — | Different Style! | ||
| "Unconditional Love" (with Donna Summer) | 14 | 57 | — | 48 | — | 28 | — | 24 | 43 | 9 | She Works Hard for the Money | ||
| "007" | 26 | — | — | — | — | 27 | — | — | — | — | Different Style! | ||
| "She's Trouble" | 87 | — | — | 43 | — | — | — | — | 65 | 25 | |||
| 1984 | "Sixteen" (with Jody Watley) | 23 | — | — | — | — | 27 | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Whatcha Talking 'Bout" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 81 | |||
| "Let's Go to the Moon" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Template:N/a | ||
| 1994 | "Pass the Dutchie" (remixes) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Maximum Volume... | |
| 2004 | "Pretty Woman" (with Pato Banton) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Template:N/a | |
| 2008 | "Pass the Dutchie" (re-recording) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Christmas EP | |
| 2009 | "Mary's Boy Child/Oh My Lord" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2013 | "The Harder They Come" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | When Reggae Was King | |
| 2016 | "Pass the Dutchie" (Odjbox Remix) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | rowspan="2" Template:N/a | |
| 2019 | "Pass the Dutchie" (Star Slinger Remix) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2020 | "Sharing the Night Together" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | When Reggae Was King | |
| "Pass the Dutchie 21" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||