Not even Bob Marley can match the success of Chakademus & Pliers on the British charts. Between June 1993 and January 1995 they notched up a record five consecutive UK Top 20 entries, including Twist & Shout, their No. 1 hit with Jack Radics. The duo became household names as a result; the combination of Pliers� yearning vocals and Chakademus� rockstone chat proving irresistible to their new-found global audience, and earning them a Gold disc for the debut Island Jamaica album, Tease Me. The reason they were unable to maintain such overwhelming success was due to the collapse of their record company, who inexplicably failed to promote their follow-up set For Every Kind of People, and then dropped them shortly afterwards. Life at the top temporarily on pause, Chakademus & pliers returned to Jamaica and launched their own labels: Pliers sharing Bonner Productions with his younger brothers Spanner Banner and Richie Spice (both singers in their own right) and Chakademus controlling Bright Star, whose roster included fellow artist Freddie McGregor at one stage. Whilst not quite so prolific as before, Chakademus & Pliers also continued to record as a duo, contributing lead single Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic, to the Virgin album Reggatta Mondatta: A Reggae Tribute To The Police, and What�s The Move to the soundtrack of popular Jamaican movie Dancehall Queen. As good as these songs were, the represented slim pickings for an act who�d toured all over the world, and crossed every boundary (musical and otherwise) in the preceding five years. This phase of the career is now thankfully over, and after signing to Unexpected Entertainment, the only direction is forwards with the release of their brand new album. It�s their third to feature production from Sly & Robbie, who remain unchallenged as Jamaica�s premier rhythm section, and whose understanding of contemporary music trends is second-to-none. It was their rhythms which had propelled the likes of Tease Me, Murder She Wrote, Twist & shout and She Don�t Love Nobody to overground fame, and by weaving Latin, hip hop and club beats into their usual tapestry of infectious dancehall backdrops, they�ve provided the ideal platform for Chakademus & Pliers to compete at the highest level once more. With Dennis Charles & Ronnie Wilson and the veteran Clive Hunt also contributing eight tracks between them, It�s a varied set both lyrically and musically and there�s no shortage of songs with crossover potential. Bright and sumptuous balled Falling (produced by Charles & Wilson) is a prime example showcasing Pliers� aching vocals at their most tender, whilst Marvin Gaye would surely approve of the seductive Got To Get You Home: an intimate soul/reggae track framed by sweeping strings and soft, female harmonies. Like Gentle and Hunt�s forlorn Crying in the Rain, such tracks demonstrate why Chakademus & Pliers continue to enjoy the kind of enduring; widespread appeals many of their contemporaries can only dream about. �Life goes on,� raps Chaka on the latter, �but don�t leave me standing alone in the storm inside of me. �It�s a lyric that strikes deep into the heart of abandoned lovers everywhere, although the sadness turns to excitement elsewhere, with the steamy I Like It, Sweets For My Sweet and Street Lover being stoked by a passion that�s barely contained within a three or four minute framework. Diana (again produced by Hunt), like the throbbing, low-slung Dangerous warns against messing with a temptress, whilst Do It Like That revamps the rhythm from Sly & Robbie�s �87 UK hit Boops (Here We Go Again) in murderous fashion. It�s still a groundbreaking groove; the Riddim Twins� blend of reggae, classical music and prototype hip hops driving Chaka Demus & Pliers to even dizzier heights. �Hit It, Hit It,� exhorts Chaka, whose clear enunciation and deceptively simple phrasing has made him the mainstream�s favourite ragga DJ. With a Latin flavour informing the hypnotic One Night and Heaven knows getting ready to explode on the club circuit, it�s not just pop and lovers rock fans who should take note. The curiously titled F.F. is reggae dancehall without apology with its tough, insistent rhythm - Sly & Robbie clenching their iron hand underneath Chakademus & Pliers� velvet glove � whilst Redemption is a plea for universal love and harmony, and remixed in hip hop and garage styles for even greater exposure. In short, all the hallmarks of their former crossover success are here. The longing in Pliers� delicate vocals is still guaranteed to have female fans swooning, whilst Chaka�s cajoling and prompting confirms his mastery of a dancehall style he�s already spent over fifteen years perfecting. The story of their humble beginnings has been documented in any number of media interviews over the years, but for the record, both grew up in Kingston, Jamaica, and won their early reputations on the vibrant, local dancehall scene, just as computerised rhythms were changing the face of modern reggae music forever. Chakademus (real name John Taylor), whose genial demeanour and strong moral character provides a welcome contrast to the usual ragga �bad bwoy� stereotype, derived his name from the lane Jamaican MC NicoDemus, and after learning his skills on smaller sets such as Roots Majestic and Supreme, then joined King Jammys� champion sound-system stationed in the nearby ghetto community of waterhouse. It was Jammys who produced his debut songs increase Your Knowledge and 1985 hit One Scotch, which he shared with fellow DJ Admiral Bailey. The affable Chaka quickly rose to prominence thereafter, recording hits for Black Scorpio, Harry J, Skengdon, Bobby Digital Penthouse before teaming up with Pliers in 1991 after a chance encounter at a Miami stage show. Pliers (real name Everton Bonner) was raised in the Rockall district of St. Anns, and was initially known as Blues Melody before being renamed Pliers on account of his vocal resemblance to a young dancehall rival called Pinchers. His early hits (and for a similar line-up of producers as Chakademus) included the very first version of Murder she Wrote as voiced for Pioneer Musik in 1986, although encouraged by Yellowman, he�d already marked his debut with the stark reality song Babylon A Brutalise We a good three years previously. With his fluent warble weaving a pretty path between original songs and cover versions, Pliers was the archetypal, mid-to-late eighties� dancehall singer, and he found the ideal foil in Chakademus. Their first collaboration, Gal Wine, was recorded for producer Ossie Hibbert, and spent over three months on the British reggae charts, in 1992. It was the success of this that led them in the direction of Sly & Robbie, Who�d originally built the mesmerising Murder She Wrote Rhythm for guitarist Lloyd �Gitsy� Willis, whose nimble handywork can be heard o most subsequent Chaka Demus & Pliers� releases. Issued on Sly & Robbie�s own Taxi label, together with a solo version by Pliers called Bam Bam, Murder She Wrote became the biggest-selling reggae dancehall single of 1992, inspiring a host of other Chakademus & Pliers'�duets for producers such as Jah Screw and Xterminator�s Fatis Burrell before duo eventually signed to Island Records� Mango subsidiary. It was contagious dancehall/ska track Tease Me (written by Spanner Banner) that provided their debut UK chart hit the following rear � the Jamaican twosome striking the perfect balance between grassroots credibility and pop success, and setting the pace for extraordinary feats that were to follow. With this new album, they maintain such high standards with the same, all-embracing effervescence that distinguished their best work from the past. That�s its designed to recapture the hearts of their mainstream audience goes without saying but rather than repeat their original blueprint, Chakademus & Pliers have redefined it and moved it forward: their sizzling mix of contemporary dance styles still rooted in the reggae tradition that first nurtured them. John Masouri |
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