The Twinkle Brothers
are a Jamaican reggae band formed in 1962, and still active in the 21st century.
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TWINKLE BROTHERS TICKETS
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History
The Twinkle Brothers were formed in 1962 by brother Norman (vocals, drums) and Ralston Grant (vocals, rhythm guitar) from
Falmouth, Jamaica.
[1] The band was expanded with the addition of Eric Barnard (piano), Karl Hyatt (vocals, percussion), and Albert Green (congas, percussion). After winning local talent competitions, they recorded their first single, "Somebody Please Help Me" in 1966 for producer
Leslie Kong.
This was followed by sessions for other top Jamaican producers such as
Duke Reid,
Lee "Scratch" Perry,
Sid Bucknor,
Phil Pratt, and
Bunny Lee.
The band worked in the late 1960s and early 1970s on the island's hotel circuit, playing a mixture of calypso, soul, pop, and soft reggae, and in the early 1970s, they began producing their own recordings.
Their debut album,
Rasta Pon Top
, was released in 1975, featuring strongly-
Rastafari-oriented songs such as "Give Rasta Praise" and "Beat Them Jah Jah". As well as producing Twinkle Brothers work, Norman Grant also produced other artists in the mid 1970s. In 1977, the band were signed to
Virgin Records' Frontline label, leading to the release of the
Love
,
Praise Jah
, and
Countrymen
albums. When the band were dropped by Virgin Records in the early 1980s, Norman Grant moved to the
United Kingdom, and carried on effectively as a solo artist, but still using the Twinkle Brothers name, and continued with regular releases well into the 2000s, mainly on his own
Twinkle
label.
Since the early 1990s Twinkle Brothers is regularely collaborating with the Polish band
Trebunie-Tutki in which they fuse raggae and traditional music from the
Tatra_Mountains.
Albums
- Rasta Pon Top
(1975) Grounation
- Love
(1977) Front Line
- Praise Jah
(1979) Front Line
- Countrymen
(1980) Front Line
- Me No You
(1981) Twinkle
- Underground
(1982) Twinkle
- Dub Massacre part 1
(1982) Twinkle
- Burden Bearer
(1983) Twinkle
- Enter Zion
(1983) Twinkle
- Crucial Cuts
(1983) Virgin
- Dub Massacre Part 2
(1983) Twinkle
- Live From Reggae Sunsplash
(1984) Twinkle
- Right Way
(1985)
- Dub Massacre Part 3
(1985) Twinkle
- Kilimanjaro
(1985) Twinkle
- Anti-Apartheid
(1985) Twinkle
- Respect and Honour
(1987) Twinkle
- Twinkle Love Songs
(1987) Twinkle
- All The Hits From 1970-88
(1988) Twinkle
- New Songs For Jah
(1989) Twinkle
- Rastafari Chant
(1989) Twinkle
- Dub Massacre Part 4
(1989) Twinkle
- All Is Well
(1990) Twinkle
- Free Africa
(1990) Front Line
- Live In Warsaw
(1990) Twinkle
- Unification
(1990) Twinkle
- Wind of Change
(1990) Twinkle
- Dub Massacre Part 5 - Lion Head
(1990) Twinkle
- Old Cuts
(1991)
- Don't Forget Africa
(1992) Twinkle
- Twinkle Love Songs volume 2
(1992) Twinkle
- Dub With Strings
(1992) Twinkle
- Babylon Rise Again
(1992) Twinkle
- Higher Heights
(1992) Twinkle Music (with polish folk band Trebunie-Tutki)
- Comeback Twinkle 2
(1994) Ryszard (with polish folk band Trebunie-Tutki)
- Dub Massacre Part 6 - Dub Feeding Program
(1994) Twinkle
- Dub Plate
(1995) Twinkle
- Dub Salute Part 5
(1996) Jah Shaka
- Final Call
(1997) Twinkle
- Greatest Hits
(1997) Kahamuk (with Trebunie Tutki)
- Twinkle Love Songs, Vol. 3; Heart to Heart
(2000) Twinkle
- Give The Sufferer A Chance
(2004) Twinkle
- Live At Maritime Hall: San Francisco
(2001) 2B1
- Old Time Something
(2002) Twinkle
- Will This World Survive
(2002) Twinkle
- The Youthful Warrior
(2004) Twinkle
- Songs of Glory/Piesni chwaly
(Warsaw 2008) - (with Trebunie Tutki)
- Repent
(2008), Sip a Cup
References
- Larkin, Colin (1998) "The Virgin Encyclopedia of Reggae", Virgin Books, ISBN 0-7535-0242-9