| features in: Album Chart of 1982 → ● Album Chart of the Decade: 1980s → |
What a story they had to tell. Whilst at high school in Kingston 1962 Frederick Waite Sr. had been a founding member of The Techniques vocal group who would go on to have a very succesful time of it in the rocksteady era. Fast forward 17 years and now living in Birmingham, England, his two boys Patrick (11) and Freddie (12) were encouraged to follow in their father's footsteps. Another pair of brothers, Kelvin Grant (8) and Michael Grant (10) completed the initial crazy-young line-up, with Freddie Sr. on lead vocals. A lot of people find it hard to believe that they all played their own instruments, but that they did, and their skills were finely honed by the time they released their first 45 (“Generals” b/w “Politics”) in February, 1981. John Peel was on it from the start, and he invited them in for a session a couple of months later, where “Don't Blame The Youth” (later retitled as “Youth Of Today”) was first aired. Michael Grant: “We used to do a lot of pubs and clubs with this 35-year-old man when we were between the ages of seven and 12. This old guy next to a bunch of kids! Kelvin's hands were so small they could only just reach around the fretboard of his guitar. It was odd, but we got a favourable reaction. We could play our instruments.” MCA execs saw the potential and offered them a conract on one condition; that they'd find a singer their own age. Dennis Seaton got the gig as he was the only one who turned up for the audition. Thankfully, he could sing a bit too.
The path was carefully planned out for them, and in the summer of '82 they got to work on an albums-worth of material, before knowing what success lay ahead. And what success they had! First fruits of the new sessions were issued in September '82, with the “Pass The Dutchie” single (a reworking of The Mighty Diamonds' “Pass The Kutchie”). They had a video specially prepared for it too, directed by Don Letts, and this became the first video by a Black musical act to appear on MTV. All of this preparation paid off big-time as the single shot to #1 in the UK and several countries, as well as making the Top 10 in the States. Overnight, they truly became a worldwide sensation. Beautifully timed, the full-length LP arrived in October '82, as they lined-up: Dennis Seaton (15, vocals, percussion), Kelvin Grant (11, guitars, vocals); Michael Grant (13, keyboards, vocals); Patrick Waite (14, bass) and Freddie Waite Jr. (15, drums, vocals). Playing up to their youthful image, the album included a colourful comic story on its inner sleeve, and came with a big Musical Youth poster. The comic story was hot-off-the-press and revelled in the recent single success. With 4 million copies sold, there were fans all over the globe ready to hear them. Although nothing from thereon would catch-a-fire quite so dramatically, the album did produce a string of further hits including “Youth Of Today” (#13), “Never Gonna Give You Up” (#6) and “Heartbreaker” (#44). The album did great business for them too, hitting #1 in the UK and #23 in the US. Troubles were just around the corner for the group, but no-one can take away their fine achievements at this time.
The Jukebox Rebel
26–Jun–2007
| Tracklist |
| A1 | [03:25]  Musical Youth - Pass The Dutchie (Lloyd Anthony Fergusson, Jackie Mittoo, Fitzroy Simpson) Reggae |
| A2 | [03:55]  Musical Youth - Heartbreaker (Freddie Waite Sr.) Reggae |
| A3 | [03:08]  Musical Youth - Gone Straight (Freddie Waite Sr.) Reggae |
| A4 | [03:50]  Musical Youth - Blind Boy (Michael Grant, Kelvin Grant, Dennis Seaton, Patrick Waite, Freddie Waite Jr.) Reggae |
| A5 | [03:28]  Musical Youth - Rockers (Michael Grant, Kelvin Grant, Dennis Seaton, Patrick Waite, Freddie Waite Jr.) Reggae |
| A6 | [02:55]  Musical Youth - Youth Of Today (Michael Grant, Kelvin Grant, Dennis Seaton, Patrick Waite, Freddie Waite Jr., Freddie Waite Sr.) Reggae |
| B1 | [03:18]  Musical Youth - Young Generation (Michael Grant, Kelvin Grant, Dennis Seaton, Patrick Waite, Freddie Waite Jr.) Reggae |
| B2 | [02:37] Musical Youth - Mirror Mirror (Freddie Waite Sr.) Reggae |
| B3 | [03:03]  Musical Youth - Children Of Zion (Michael Grant, Kelvin Grant, Dennis Seaton, Patrick Waite, Freddie Waite Jr., Freddie Waite Sr.) Reggae |
| B4 | [03:06]  Musical Youth - Never Gonna Give You Up (Michael Grant, Kelvin Grant, Dennis Seaton, Patrick Waite, Freddie Waite Jr., Freddie Waite Sr.) Reggae |
| B5 | [03:50] Musical Youth - Run ‘n’ Dub (Michael Grant, Kelvin Grant, Dennis Seaton, Patrick Waite, Freddie Waite Jr.) Reggae |
| B6 | [03:26]  Musical Youth - Schoolgirl (Michael Grant, Kelvin Grant, Dennis Seaton, Patrick Waite, Freddie Waite Jr.) Reggae |
