Barrington Levy
b. 1964, Kingston, Jamaica, West Indies. Barrington Levy was one of the first singers to challenge the dominance of DJs in '80s dancehall reggae, although his earliest recording, under the name of the Mighty Multitude (My Black Girl in 1977), predated that era. Another early single, A Long Long Time Since We Don't Have No Love in 1978, followed the first into obscurity, but Barrington, undaunted, went into the dancehalls. By 1981 Levy's effortlessly buoyant voice had spread his fame to the point where Henry Junjo Lawes, then the hottest producer in Jamaica, came hunting for him. His first Junjo single was Ah Yah We Deh, which sold moderately well, as did two further releases. His fourth single, Collie Weed, really took off. Barrington did not sound much like anyone else: maybe revealing some of Jacob Miller’s style, and a little of Bob Andy's influence, but with the raw energy of the dancehalls in his phrasing. While other singers were struggling, Barrington was slugging it out at the top. His first album, BOUNTY HUNTER, sold well and a string of singles consolidated his position: Robber Man, Black Rose, Like A Soldier, the massive Money Move, the monster hit, Shine Eye Gal, and the stunning Prison Oval Rock, and a series of albums were released between 1982-85 to capitalise on his success. He was later to denounce many of these as ‘joke business’, being packaged with old singles, out-takes and one-off private sound system recordings. He did his first UK gigs in 1984, including a slot as a winner at the UK Reggae Awards. He then linked with young producer Jah Screw and scored a huge hit with the anthemic Under Me Sensi. He followed it with Here I Come, which was a hit in the soul clubs and scraped the UK charts when licensed by London Records, who also issued an album of the same title. However, Screw and Levy made the fatal mistake of courting crossover success and he sounded lost on subsequent rocky singles. 
Levy travelled between Jamaica, London and New York, and although he lost momentum at the end of the '80s he still had all the talent of his peak, as LOVE THE LIFE YOU LIVE made clear. Two Bob Andy covers, Too Experienced and My Time brought him back to the forefront of reggae, and he signed to Island Records in 1991 for the fine DIVINE set. While it remains to be seen whether he can ever achieve the broader success that seemed to be his in the mid-80s, he remains one of reggae's most powerful and original voices.