By david, glasgow, scotland (213.107.27.25 - 213.107.27.25) on Friday, March 08, 2002 - 04:40 pm:

bobby writes:-
This is a picture of Jamaican Lover's rock artist Barry Biggs and myself outside of Dynamic Sounds Studios in Kingston, Jamaica in December of 1977. The chickens and goats and broken pieces of vinyl are out of the camera's sight!

Barry had a huge British hit of our song Sideshow, as well as Three Ring Circus.

The trip to Jamaica was a gift from my wife for our wedding anniversary, providing that I stayed away from any recording studios, because I was working 24-7 and I needed a well deserved holiday.

Anywhere I would go, studios and people in the business would be drawn to me like a magnet, and this time was no different.When we went in the studio there was a huge cloud of smoke and I got the biggest contact high ever! So we had to get some food right away and left to get some curry goat, and came back a while later only to find that the producer/engineer took out a multitrack and wanted to know "can you give me that Philly sound mon"??

He had a tape of Barry Biggs doing the pop standard "I'm gonna sit right down
and write myself a letter " in a lovers rock style. So in the spirit of the groove I took a toke and proceeded to mix, and needless to say my wife , God bless her soul was miffed because I needed a rest, but so goes the biz and
the Eli magnet.

By phillysoulman (64.12.97.11 - 64.12.97.11) on Friday, March 08, 2002 - 05:17 pm:

Maybe Barry is my long lost Jamaican brother, don't you think?
He did come to visit us in the spring of 1978 and he stayed at our house. I took him to sigma to meet every one. I have a picture of that back home and I will send it too. He is such a sweet guy ant a true talent

By phillysoulman (64.12.97.11 - 64.12.97.11) on Friday, March 08, 2002 - 05:21 pm:

Ps: I should have mentioned that I was trying to hide the stain on my shirt caused by mango juice that dripped onto it after I reached out of the window of our friend Stamma's car to pick one off of a tree as we were riding along! It was on there all day even as I was mixing!!

By Ritchie Hardin (62.254.0.6 - 62.254.0.6) on Friday, March 08, 2002 - 06:56 pm:

Bobby

If it was Dynamic Studios I guess the producer would be Byron Lee...?

I wonder if you're aware that there was a lot of prejudice against Barry Biggs' cuts of your songs at the time - mostly from snobby Soul fans who considered Reggae versions of R&B tunes to be somehow inferior.

I'm sure you might guess that I wasn't among those detractors, (having been a follower of fine Jamaican music for almost as many years as I've been listening to Soul.)

Therefore, it's good to see you put the record straight - your "Jamaican Brother". I mean, if Bobby Eli says Barry Biggs is OK, who's to argue? ;o)

By phillysoulman (64.12.97.11 - 64.12.97.11) on Friday, March 08, 2002 - 08:49 pm:

Hi Ritchie,

The producer on that session ws not Byron Lee, although I did meet him in his office at this time.
During this trip, I learned of the influx of Chinese traders who made Jamaica their home during
the 18th and 19th century, which explains Byron Lee's Chinese-Jamaican roots. When I looked out into room when I first arrived, I noticed and was amazed by Geoffery Chung, the famous Chinese -Jamaican guitarist just "skanking" away while wearing his wooly on his head!!
The actual producer of that session was a dark skinned rather robust man about six feet tall about 35 years of age,with normal length hair. I'm sory that his name escapes me at this time.
When I was in the control room , after about 40 minutes of hearing the band run down what I thought was the same song, I asked the producer when are they going to do a take. He then said,"hey mon, we just cut five songs mon!"
Incidently, the desk was an old MCI 400, 16 track format. The control room was rather small, with red, orange and brown carpeting on the walls,and the tracking room was about 50 by 35, maybe a little larger , and the walls were blue and white. I have pictures of all of this as well.