Nicky Thomas was a reggae

Reggae

Reggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s. While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Jamaican music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady.Reggae is based...

 singer who enjoyed considerable chart

Record chart

A record chart is a ranking of recorded music according to popularity during a given period of time. Examples of music charts are the Hit parade, Hot 100 or Top 40....

 success in the 1970s.

Biography

After working as a labourer along with future members of The Gladiators

The Gladiators (band)

The Gladiators are a Jamaican roots reggae band, most popular during the 1970s. The core was Albert Griffiths , Clinton Fearon and Dallimore Sutherland bass guitar and singer. The two most famous albums are Trenchtown Mix Up and Proverbial Reggae with songs as "Hearsay", "Jah Works", "Dreadlocks...

, Thomas's break came with "Run Mr. Nigel Run", produced

Record producer

A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...

 by Derrick Harriott

Derrick Harriott

Derrick Harriott is a singer and record producer. He has produced recordings by Big Youth, Chariot Riders, The Chosen Few, Dennis Brown, The Ethiopians, Keith & Tex, The Kingstonians, Rudy Mills, Scotty, Sly & Revolutionaries, and Winston McAnuff.-Biography:As a student at Excelsior High School,...

. This was followed by a successful association with producer Joe Gibbs

Joe Gibbs (record producer)

Joe Gibbs born Joel A. Gibson was a Jamaican reggae producer.-Biography:Joe Gibbs worked as an electronics engineer in the United States before his career in music started. Gibbs eventually returned to Kingston, Jamaica and opened an electrical repair shop with television repairs and sales as its...

, with hits

Hit record

A hit record is a sound recording, usually in the form of a single or album, that sells a large number of copies or otherwise becomes broadly popular or well-known, through airplay, club play, inclusion in a film or stage play soundtrack, causing it to have "hit" one of the popular chart listings...

 following in the form of "God Bless The Children", "Mama's Song", "Rainy Night In Georgia

Rainy Night in Georgia

"Rainy Night in Georgia" is a song written by Tony Joe White in 1962 and popularized by R&B vocalist Brook Benton in 1970.In 1969, after several years without a major hit, Benton had signed to a new record label, Cotillion Records...

" and "If I Had a Hammer

If I Had a Hammer

"If I Had a Hammer " is a song written by Pete Seeger and Lee Hays. It was written in 1949 in support of the progressive movement, and was first recorded by The Weavers, a folk music quartet composed of Seeger, Hays, Ronnie Gilbert and Fred Hellerman, and then by Peter, Paul and Mary.- Early...

". He broke into the UK Top 10

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 ...

 in 1970 with his version of "Love of the Common People

Love of the Common People (song)

"Love of the Common People" is a folk ballad written and composed by John Hurley and Ronnie Wilkins and first released in January 1967 by The Four Preps...

" which sold over 175,000 copies in the UK. A concert tour followed, after which Thomas decided to stay in the United Kingdom

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...

, promoting a 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...

 of his work with Gibbs, also entitled Love of the Common People. This was followed by his self-produced Tell It Like It Is album, featuring the near-hit "Yesterday Man", and "BBC", his commentary on the lack of airplay for reggae records on BBC Radio 1

BBC Radio 1

BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation which also broadcasts internationally, specialising in current popular music and chart hits throughout the day. Radio 1 provides alternative genres after 7:00pm including electronic dance, hip hop, rock...

.

Thomas continued recording commercial reggae, working with the likes of Lloyd Charmers

Lloyd Charmers

Lloyd Charmers is a ska and reggae singer, keyboard player and record producer.-Career:...

. In 1974, he toured the UK backed by the musician

Musician

A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....

s who would later go on to become Misty In Roots

Misty in Roots

Misty in Roots began life as a Southall-based British roots reggae band in the early 1970s. Their first album was 1979's Live at the Counter Eurovision, a record full of Biblical Rastafarian songs. It was championed by BBC Radio 1 DJ John Peel, helping to bring roots reggae to a white audience...

.

Nicky Thomas committed suicide

Suicide

Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...

 in 1990.

Albums

• Love of the Common People (1970) Trojan
  Trojan Records
  Trojan Records is a British record label founded in 1968. It specialises in ska, rocksteady, reggae and dub music. The label currently operates under the Sanctuary Records Group. The name Trojan comes from the Croydon-built Trojan truck that was used as Duke Reid's sound system in Jamaica...
  
  
• Tell It Like It Is (1971) Trojan
• Images of You (1973) Trojan
• Doing The Moon Walk (1991) Trojan (compilation)
• Love of the Common People (2003) Trojan (compilation)

External links

• Nicky Thomas at Roots Archives