Some 35 years ago sax player Lee Thompson helped introduced
an entire generation to Ska music when as part of Madness they exploded on to
the music scene on the crest of the 2-Tone wave. Now in the time between
various Madness gigs and duties El Thommo
has been filling that gap since 2011 by forming his own Ska Orchestra, with the
aid of fellow Madness member and bassist Mark Bedford, to recreate and pay
homage to those authentic Ska and Reggae rhythms that burst out of Jamaica in
the mid to late 1960’s that influenced him and the band so much.
Since then The Orchestra have been performing all over to
rave reviews and the next logical step was to put that sound on record which
has resulted in the release of debut album “The Benevolence of Sister Mary
Ignatius”, with the title itself paying tribute to the lady who opened and ran
the Alpha School for Boys. The album features their takes on many Ska classics
like Baba Brookes’ ‘Gun Fever’, Jackie Mittoo’s ‘Napoleon Solo’, ‘EasternStandard Time’ by Don Drummond plus in amongst all these great instrumentals is
the single release, featuring Bitty
Mclean on vocals, a take on Desmond
Dekker’s mighty, mystical 'Fu Man Chu'. The album has been co-produced by
Mike Pelanconi aka Prince Fatty who has worked with the likes of reggae greats
Dennis Alcapone, Little Roy and Winston Francis as well as helping introduce us
to the delights of the talented Hollie Cook.
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