Lloyd Charmers

Lloyd Charmers
Birth name Lloyd Tyrell
Born 1938
Trench Town, Jamaica
Origin Kingston, Jamaica
Died 27 December 2012 (aged 74)
Genres Ska, reggae
Instruments Vocalist, Producer, Keyboard
Labels Splash, Soul Beat, Wildflower
Associated acts The Messengers, The Charmers

Lloyd Charmers (born Lloyd Tyrell, 1938 – 27 December 2012, a.k.a. Lloyd Chalmers, Lloyd Terell, or Lloyd Terrell)[1] was a ska and reggae singer, keyboard player and record producer.

Career

Lloyd Charmers was born in Kingston, Jamaica.[2][3] His professional career began in 1962, when he performed as The Charmers with Roy Willis on Vere Johns' Talent Hour, starting a recording career soon after. When The Charmers split, he joined Slim Smith and Martin Jimmy Riley in The Uniques. Charmers subsequently moved on to a solo career, releasing two albums in 1970, and also recording X-rated tracks such as "Birth Control", and the album Censored, these more risqué outings appearing under his real name or as 'Lloydie & The Lowbites'.[4]

He was also briefly a member of The Messengers, a short-lived supergroup also featuring Ken Boothe, B. B. Seaton and Busty Brown.

He set up his own 'Splash' record label in the early 1970s,[5] and moved into production.[6] Productions by him were notable for their sophisticated arrangements. With his session band, The Now Generation, he produced artists such as Ken Boothe (including some of Boothe's most successful solo releases of the period, such as his cover of David Gates' "Everything I Own",[6] B. B. Seaton, The Gaylads, and Lloyd Parks.

He later relocated to the UK where he continued to record and produce in a variety of styles, from Lovers Rock to Disco.[2]

In 1980, UK ska band The Specials had a hit with Too Much Too Young, an adaptation of Charmers' 1969 song Birth Control.[7]

Death

Charmers died on 27 December 2012 from a myocardial infarction (heart attack) in London while driving.[1][8]

Discography

Albums

  • Reggae Charm (1970, Trojan Records) (with Byron Lee & the Dragonaires)
  • Reggae Is Tight (1970, Trojan)
  • Censored (1972, Lowbite) (as Lloydie and The Lowbites)
  • Charmers In Session (1973, Trojan)
  • Wildflower Original Reggae Hits (1974, Trojan)
  • Too Hot To Handle (1975, Wildflower)
  • Golden Days (1980, Sarge)
  • Sweet Memories (1982, Echo)

References

  1. 1 2 Ruddock, George (2012) "Lloyd Charmers' Passing A Big Loss", Jamaica Gleaner, 29 December 2012. Retrieved 29 December 2012
  2. 1 2 Laurence Cane-Honeysett: "The Great Lloyd Charmers", http://www.trojanrecords.com/news/2012/12/the-great-lloyd-charmers-(1)
  3. ↑ "Lloyd Charmers", Allmusic. Retrieved 29 December 2012
  4. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zthoBUX0l18
  5. ↑ Barrow, Steve & Dalton, Peter: "Reggae: The Rough Guide", 1997, Rough Guides, ISBN 1-85828-247-0
  6. 1 2 Thompson, Dave (2002) Reggae & Caribbean Music, Backbeat Books, ISBN 0-87930-655-6, p. 308
  7. ↑ "Too Much Too Young by The Specials Songfacts". www.songfacts.com. Retrieved 2017-03-15.
  8. ↑ "UPDATE: Musician Lloyd Charmers is dead". www.jamaicaobserver.com. 28 December 2012. Retrieved 28 December 2012.


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