Light of the World
Encyclopedia
Light Of The World were originally a forerunner of the late 1970s/early 1980s British
jazz-funk
movement. The band's name is taken from the 1974 Kool and the Gang album
, Light of Worlds
. The band
was formed by Breeze McKrieth, Kenny Wellington, Paul Williams, Jean Paul Maunick and David Baptiste.
before securing their first recording contract
.
The following members joined the line-up in 1979, after the recording
of the first album
. The band were already signed to Ensign Records
/Polygram
, and this followed the death of Chris Etienne when the band were in involved in a motorway crash. After auditions, Nat Augustin and Ganiyu Bello, who had travelled from Manchester
, joined the band. The band recorded a second album followed by a successful tour.
The band split up for the first time in 1981.
Wellington, Baptiste and McKreith became Beggar and Co
, and immediately hit the Top 20 in the UK Singles Chart
with "(Somebody) Help Me Out". This was followed by work on the Spandau Ballet
track, "Chant No.1 ( Don't Need This Pressure On)", which reached #2 in the UK Singles Chart. Maunick, Hinds and Williams formed Incognito
. Bello and Augustin continued briefly as Light Of The World, before recording solo
material for EMI
and Polydor
. Peter Hinds was also a member of Atmosfear
.
There was a brief Light Of The World reunion in 1982, featuring the American
drummer, William Billy Carson, just before Bello and Augustin embarked on their solo recordings.
In 1985, Wellington and McKrieth reformed the band after working on some remix
es with DJ
, John Morales. This included a remix
of the tracks "London Town" and "Time". Light Of The World reformed briefly again in 1990, recording for Chrysalis
.
Various configurations followed, including the single "Keep The Dream Alive" with Kenny Wellington and Nat Augustin, produced by Simon Law. This was followed by a configuration of Kenny Wellington and Bello with Jean Paul Maunick in charge of production, for another single "One Destination". Bello had also put together another splinter group called The Team, and had dancefloor success with the track "Wicki Wacki House Party". In the meantime Augustin replaced Ashley Ingram in the group Imagination
and recorded the album Fascination Of The Physical.
In 1999, Wellington assembled most of the original band, including McKrieth and Baptiste, to co-produce anpther album Inner Voices along with Richard Bull. Augustin was also on board for the recording along with bass player Frank Felix who, after years of live performance with the band, was invited by Wellington to join. Other than compilation album
s, this was the last studio album involving the original band members.
Currently the founder members of the band are working together once again, with a line-up including Wellington, McKrieth, Baptiste, Maunick and Hinds, and have recorded another album.
, Brass, Strings N' Things under the collective name of Beggar & Co featuring The Funk Jazz Collective:-
was held for him at Dingwalls
in Camden
. This show featured all the original members back on stage, along with guests including Junior Giscombe, Kenny Thomas
and Leee John formerly of Imagination.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
jazz-funk
Jazz-funk
Jazz-funk is a sub-genre of jazz music characterized by a strong back beat , electrified sounds, and often, the presence of the first electronic analog synthesizers...
movement. The band's name is taken from the 1974 Kool and the Gang album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
, Light of Worlds
Light of Worlds
-Singles:-Personnel:* Khalis Bayyan - Synthesizer, Bass, Percussion, Piano, Arranger, Piano , Sax , Vocals, Clavinet, Kalimba, Mellotron* Robert "Kool" Bell - Bass, Vocals* George "Funky" Brown - Percussion, Drums, Gong...
. The band
Musical ensemble
A musical ensemble is a group of people who perform instrumental or vocal music. In classical music, trios or quartets either blend the sounds of musical instrument families or group together instruments from the same instrument family, such as string ensembles or wind ensembles...
was formed by Breeze McKrieth, Kenny Wellington, Paul Williams, Jean Paul Maunick and David Baptiste.
Original line-up
The band's original 1978 line up was:- Kenny Wellington (trumpetTrumpetThe trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
, flugelhornFlugelhornThe flugelhorn is a brass instrument resembling a trumpet but with a wider, conical bore. Some consider it to be a member of the saxhorn family developed by Adolphe Sax ; however, other historians assert that it derives from the valve bugle designed by Michael Saurle , Munich 1832 , thus...
, percussionPercussion instrumentA percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration...
, vocals, hornHorn (instrument)The horn is a brass instrument consisting of about of tubing wrapped into a coil with a flared bell. A musician who plays the horn is called a horn player ....
arrangementArrangementThe American Federation of Musicians defines arranging as "the art of preparing and adapting an already written composition for presentation in other than its original form. An arrangement may include reharmonization, paraphrasing, and/or development of a composition, so that it fully represents...
s, producerRecord producerA record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
) - David 'Baps' Baptiste (saxophoneSaxophoneThe saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...
, fluteFluteThe flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...
, percussion, vocals, arrangements) - Chris Etienne (percussion)
- Peter 'Stepper' Hinds (keyboardsKeyboard instrumentA keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
) - Jean-Paul 'Bluey' MaunickJean-Paul 'Bluey' MaunickJean-Paul 'Bluey' Maunick is a British guitarist, bandleader, composer and record producer. He has led the British acid jazz band Incognito since its formation in 1979. With Incognito, he has released fourteen studio albums as well as a number of live albums, remix albums and compilation albums...
(guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, lead and backing vocals, producer) - Everton McCalla (drumDrumThe drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments, which is technically classified as the membranophones. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a shell and struck, either directly with the player's hands, or with a...
s) - Nathaniel Augustin (guitar, lead and backing vocals, producer)
- Paul 'Tubbs' Williams (bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, lead and backing vocals)
Various other line-ups and spin-offs
These members also played with the band on their many performances in clubs throughout the UKUnited Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
before securing their first recording contract
Recording contract
A recording contract is a legal agreement between a record label and a recording artist , where the artist makes a record for the label to sell and promote...
.
- Norman Walker (percussion)
- Earl Appleton (keyboards)
- Junior King (drums)
- Roger Thomas (saxophone)
The following members joined the line-up in 1979, after the recording
Sound recording and reproduction
Sound recording and reproduction is an electrical or mechanical inscription and re-creation of sound waves, such as spoken voice, singing, instrumental music, or sound effects. The two main classes of sound recording technology are analog recording and digital recording...
of the first album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
. The band were already signed to Ensign Records
Ensign Records
Ensign Records was started in 1976 by Nigel Grainge, as an independent Phonogram subsidiary.-History:Grainge had been the head of A&R at Phonogram in London for the previous two years and directly signed Thin Lizzy, 10cc, The Steve Miller Band, and a worldwide license for the successful All...
/Polygram
PolyGram
PolyGram was the name of the major label recording company started by Philips from as a holding company for its music interests in 1945. In 1999 it was sold to Seagram and merged into Universal Music Group.-Hollandsche Decca Distributie , 1929-1950:...
, and this followed the death of Chris Etienne when the band were in involved in a motorway crash. After auditions, Nat Augustin and Ganiyu Bello, who had travelled from Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
, joined the band. The band recorded a second album followed by a successful tour.
The band split up for the first time in 1981.
Wellington, Baptiste and McKreith became Beggar and Co
Beggar and Co
Beggar & Co are a group composed of core members Kenny Wellington, David Baptiste, Neville 'Breeze' McKrieth and other guest musicians, specialising in jazzfunk and dance music...
, and immediately hit the Top 20 in the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
with "(Somebody) Help Me Out". This was followed by work on the Spandau Ballet
Spandau Ballet
Spandau Ballet are a British band formed in London in the late 1970s. Initially inspired by, and an integral part of, the New Romantic fashion, their music has featured a mixture of funk, jazz, soul and synthpop. They were one of the most successful bands of the 1980s, achieving ten Top Ten singles...
track, "Chant No.1 ( Don't Need This Pressure On)", which reached #2 in the UK Singles Chart. Maunick, Hinds and Williams formed Incognito
Incognito (band)
Incognito is a British band, as well as one of the members of the United Kingdom's acid jazz movement. Their debut album, Jazz Funk, was released in 1981, with thirteen more albums following, the last of which, Transatlantic RPM, was released in 2010....
. Bello and Augustin continued briefly as Light Of The World, before recording solo
Solo (music)
In music, a solo is a piece or a section of a piece played or sung by a single performer...
material for EMI
EMI Records
EMI Records is the flagship record label founded by the EMI company in 1972 and launched in January 1973 as the successor to its Columbia label. The EMI label was launched worldwide...
and Polydor
Polydor Records
Polydor is a record label owned by Universal Music Group, headquartered in the United Kingdom.-Beginnings:Polydor was originally an independent branch of the Deutsche Grammophon Gesellschaft. Its name was first used as an export label in 1924, the British and German branches of the Gramophone...
. Peter Hinds was also a member of Atmosfear
Atmosfear
Atmosfear were a British jazz funk band formed in 1979. They consisted of bassist, and keyboardist Lester J. Batchelor, drummer Ray Johnson, guitarist Andy Sojka, saxophonist Stewart Cawthorne, and producer Jerry Pike. A year later singer and guitarist Tony Antoniou joined the main line up...
.
There was a brief Light Of The World reunion in 1982, featuring the American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
drummer, William Billy Carson, just before Bello and Augustin embarked on their solo recordings.
In 1985, Wellington and McKrieth reformed the band after working on some remix
Remix
A remix is an alternative version of a recorded song, made from an original version. This term is also used for any alterations of media other than song ....
es with DJ
Disc jockey
A disc jockey, also known as DJ, is a person who selects and plays recorded music for an audience. Originally, "disc" referred to phonograph records, not the later Compact Discs. Today, the term includes all forms of music playback, no matter the medium.There are several types of disc jockeys...
, John Morales. This included a remix
Remix
A remix is an alternative version of a recorded song, made from an original version. This term is also used for any alterations of media other than song ....
of the tracks "London Town" and "Time". Light Of The World reformed briefly again in 1990, recording for Chrysalis
Chrysalis Records
Chrysalis Records was a British record label that was created in 1969. The name was both a reference to the pupal stage of a butterfly and a combination of its founders names, Chris Wright and Terry Ellis...
.
Various configurations followed, including the single "Keep The Dream Alive" with Kenny Wellington and Nat Augustin, produced by Simon Law. This was followed by a configuration of Kenny Wellington and Bello with Jean Paul Maunick in charge of production, for another single "One Destination". Bello had also put together another splinter group called The Team, and had dancefloor success with the track "Wicki Wacki House Party". In the meantime Augustin replaced Ashley Ingram in the group Imagination
Imagination (band)
Imagination were a three piece British soul and funk band, who came to prominence in the early 1980s. They had chart hits in 28 countries, earning four platinum discs, nine gold discs and more than a dozen silver discs around the world between 1981 and 1983....
and recorded the album Fascination Of The Physical.
In 1999, Wellington assembled most of the original band, including McKrieth and Baptiste, to co-produce anpther album Inner Voices along with Richard Bull. Augustin was also on board for the recording along with bass player Frank Felix who, after years of live performance with the band, was invited by Wellington to join. Other than compilation album
Compilation album
A compilation album is an album featuring tracks from one or more performers, often culled from a variety of sources The tracks are usually collected according to a common characteristic, such as popularity, genre, source or subject matter...
s, this was the last studio album involving the original band members.
Currently the founder members of the band are working together once again, with a line-up including Wellington, McKrieth, Baptiste, Maunick and Hinds, and have recorded another album.
Current line-up
Although no original members are currently involved, Bello and Augustin perform as Light Of The World, with a new line up of musicians on board, although Colin Grahame has appeared with the band on many occasions over the years. A new line-up are featured on the most recent CDCompact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
, Brass, Strings N' Things under the collective name of Beggar & Co featuring The Funk Jazz Collective:-
- Kenny Wellington - trumpet, flugelhorn, vocals, percussion, production
- Kevin Robinson - trumpet, flugelhorn, percussion
- Fayyaz Virji - trombone, percussion, production
- David Baptiste - saxophone, flute, vocals
- Breeze McKrieth - guitar, vocals
- Jean Paul Maunick - guitar, vocals, production
- Camelle Hinds - bass, lead vocals
- Orphy Robinson - vibraphone, percussion
- Noel McKoy - lead vocals
- Billy Osborne - drums, production
- Toby Baker - keyboards, vocals
- Peter Hinds - keyboards
Benefit concert
Founder member, Paul 'Tubbs' Williams died in early 2007, and a benefit concertConcert
A concert is a live performance before an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, a choir, or a musical band...
was held for him at Dingwalls
Dingwalls
Dingwalls is a venue adjacent to Camden Lock in London, England. It houses bars, cafes, clubs . The building itself is one of many industrial Victorian buildings that were put to new use in the 20th century. The original owner of the building, T.E...
in Camden
Camden Town
-Economy:In recent years, entertainment-related businesses and a Holiday Inn have moved into the area. A number of retail and food chain outlets have replaced independent shops driven out by high rents and redevelopment. Restaurants have thrived, with the variety of culinary traditions found in...
. This show featured all the original members back on stage, along with guests including Junior Giscombe, Kenny Thomas
Kenny Thomas (singer)
Kenny Thomas is an English soul singer.-Career:Thomas grew up on Hillside Estate in Stamford Hill and went to Cardinal Pole RC School in Hackney . He was a boxer and a BT technician before turning his hand to a singing career...
and Leee John formerly of Imagination.
Albums
- Light Of The World (Ensign 1979)
- Round Trip (Ensign 1980) - UKUK Albums ChartThe UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart...
#73 - Remixed (Mercury 1981)
- Check Us Out (EMI 1982)
- Inner Voices (Sanctuary 1999)
Singles
- "Swingin'" (Ensign 12" 1979) - UKUK Singles ChartThe UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
#45 - "Midnight Groovin'" (Ensign 12" 1979) - UK #72
- "The Boys In Blue" (Ensign 12" 1980)
- "This Is This" (Ensign 12" 1980)
- "London Town" (Ensign 12" 1980) - UK #41
- "Pete's Crusade" (Ensign 12" 1980)
- "I Shot The SheriffI Shot the Sheriff"I Shot the Sheriff" is a song written by Bob Marley, told from the point of view of a man who admits to having killed the local sheriff, but claims to be falsely accused of having killed the deputy sheriff. He also claims to have acted in self defense when the sheriff tried to shoot him. The...
" (Ensign 12" 1980) - UK #40 - "Time" (Mercury 12" Remix 1980)
- "I'm So Happy" / "Time" (Mercury 12" 1981) - UK #35
- "Ride The Love Train" (EMI 1981) - UK #49
- "No. 1 Girl" (EMI 12" 1982)
- "Expansions" (Ensign 1992)
- "Got To Get Your Own" (Ensign 1992)
- "City Life" (Sanctuary 1999)
- "Slow Down" (Sanctuary 1999)