Penfro Sounds

Madness Wings Of A Dove (Blue Train Mix) Stiff BUYIT 181 (1983) The North London band found fame as a result of the 2Tone/ska craze that swept the UK in the early 80s.  Madness stood out from their peers in that they were a fun band leaning more to pop than ska and as the 80s progressed their output was more general pop played with a big dose of humour (as can be seen in their music videos that are worth checking out if you haven't done so already). This song written by band members Suggs and Chas Smash featured steel drums played by Creighton Steel Sounds and The Inspirational Choir of the Pentecostal First Born Church of the Living God.  Whilst not my favourite Madness tune the record buying public in the UK put this at the #2 slot in the UK charts, helped no doubt by the music video below.   The video features a Ford Iveco Daily van being parachuted out of a plane.  The van clip was originally used in a 1980 French TV advert and the right to use the clip...

Barbara Jones - Sad Movies Sir Harry - Movies Version Bullet BU 507 (1972) Once described as the "Billie Holliday of reggae" , Barbara Jones was born in Kingston, Jamaica in 1952. This was the first 45 of her career, released in 1971 (1972 in the UK).  A talented singer, she toured with Jimmy Cliff in the late 70s and early 80s as a backing singer but continued to record as a solo artist releasing over 40 singles in Jamaica and 16 in the UK. Her biggest chart success came in 1981 with the 45  "Just When I Need You Most."  At the beginning of 2014 whilst living in the UK she became ill and returned to Jamaica and later that year she died aged only 62. FLAC

Bunny Wailer Rockers / Theme From Rockers Solomonic SP 008 -34 (1978) Born Neville O'Riley Livingston on 10 April 1947 in Kingston, Jamica, Bunny was the "step-brother" of Bob Marley.  Along with Peter Tosh they formed The Wailers in 1963 originally calling themselves The Wailing Wailers. He left the band in 1973 in pursuit of a solo career and it was at this time he adopted the name Bunny.  He had by 1973 become more focused on his Rastafarian religion and much of his future solo work combined political and spiritual themes. This 45 featured in the 1978 film Rockers which was a Jamaican comedy/drama featuring a large cast of the reggae stars performing at that time. Depicting the real gritty Jamaica, the film was critically acclaimed and raised the profile of many of the musicians to a worldwide audience. FLAC

Errol Dunkley Runaway Child / When I Fall In Love Manic PFUL 1101 (1978) Errol Dunkley was born on 6th February 1951 in Kingston, Jamacia. He started his musical career at the age of 14 when he recorded the song Gypsy with Roy Shirley for the Gaydisc label and also that year 45s for the Prince Buster and Rio labels. From 1967 he recorded with Joe Gibbs releasing several 45s before forming the African Museum label with Gregory Isaacs. The partnership didn't go too well so he formed his own label called Silver Ring Records.  Throughout the 70s he released many 45 on a variety of labels but it was not until the end of the 70s he became popular in the UK and achieved chart success. This 45 was one of many that never charted and was only released as a 12" single. FLAC

Lloyd & Claudette - Queen Of The World The Prophets - Top Of The World Big Shot BI 546 (1970) This is a 45 in my collection that has given up little information searching on the net.   The band The Prophets were a UK reggae band that released several 45s on the Big Shot label in the very early 70s. They should not be confused with the Jamaican band that started up in the late 70s. Lloyd I assume is the bands lead singer as there are several releases credited to Lloyd and The Prophets and I also have found that Claudette sings (uncredited) on at least one 45 credited to The Prophets.  Big Shot was a UK based reggae label that I think was a subsidiary of Trojan records. Between 1970-1975 they issued around 130 reggae 45s. If you have any information that you can share please drop a comment. 

Shane Fentone & The Fentones Shane Fentone & The Fentones EP EMI 2696 (1977) Shane Fentone & The Fentones were formed in 1960 in the Notts town of Mansfield by Johnny Theakston who fronted the band as Shane Fenton.  Having discovered rock'n'roll he decided he wanted a name that sounded American so adopted Shane from the western and Fenton from a local printing firm.  In mid 1961 the band were due to perform for an audition for Parlophone Records but Johnny was too ill to perform and was admitted to hospital so Bernard Jewry, the band's roadie, stepped in to provide lead vocals for the audition. Johnny subsequently died in hospital aged only 17 from heart failure. With his families blessing Jewry took on the role of lead singer full time and adopted the stage name. Four 45s as Shane Fenton & The Fentones were released during 1961/62 and the a-sides all appear on this EP. Bernard Jewry then went on to record several 45s as a solo artist still using the name Sh...

The Jesus And Mary Chain Jesus Fuck (Milkweg, Amsterdam 3.9.85) / Just Like Honey (Acoustic Demo) Third Man Records TMR 1091 (2025) Originating from East Kilbride in Scotland, The Jesus And Mary Chain are a band that revolves around the brothers Jim and William Reid. Past member of the band have included Bobby Gillespie who left to form Primal Scream. This 45, issued as part of the 40th Anniversary package for The Jesus and Mary Chain's Psychocandy album, showcases the contrasting styles of this band; loud, raucous noise and soft gentle melody. The Third Man Records vault series from which this originates is a subscription service that has four issues a year of limited edition records and other items such as DVDs, photos, patches etc.  The Jesus and Mary Chain release comprised of the original album pressed on candy blue and candy pink vinyl, a live album and this 45 pressed on metallic gold vinyl.  It was the 65th release in the series. FLAC

Twinkle A Lonely Singing Doll EP Decca DFE 8621 (1965) Born Lynn Annette Ripley in 1948, she started her career at the age of 16, no doubt helped by her 23 year old boyfriend Dec Clusky who was a member of the popular singing group The Bachelors.  By the time this EP was released in May 1965 she had achieved a top 10 single with " Terry ", split with Clusky and was dating Peter Noone from Herman's Hermits. The title track on this EP is an English language cover version of the Serge Gainsbourgh song "Poupée de cire, poupée de son" that was originally recorded by France Gall as the 1965 Eurovision entry for Luxembourg. The song was inspired by the 4th movement (Prestissimo in F minor) from Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 1.  After recording six 45s for Decca records as well as this EP she retired at the age of 18 in 1966.  She resumed her musical career again in 1969 with a self penned 45 titled "Micky"  produced by Mike D'Abo but due to a lack of...

Laurel Aitken Fattie Bum Bum / Fattie Bum Dub Punch PU 121 (1975) Born of mixed Cuban/Jamaican descent in Havana, Cuba in 1927, Laurel and his family moved to Jamaica in 1938. He started recording in the late 50s with one of his first 45s being released in 1958.  In 1960 he became one of the first artists produced by Chris Blackwell (of Island Records fame) with the 45 "Boogie in My Bones"/"Little Sheila" which became the first Jamaican popular hit released on a 45 in the UK.  He also recorded around this time with Duke Reid. In 1960 he moved to the UK releasing some 45s on the Blue Beat label before returning to Jamaica in 1963, once again taking up with Duke Reid.  Around 1965 he again returned to the UK and began a run of 45s on all the major reggae labels, Pama, Island, Trojan, Horse, Rio, Ska-Beat, Blue Beat etc. He released in-excess of 150 singles in the UK and gained him a large following with the UK West Indian community as well as mods and skinheads.  Such...

Reggae Roast Soundsystem Feat. Tippa Irie  Real Reggae Music Trojan Reloaded TJRS 001 (2018) The second of the 45s that were issued in 2018 with The Trojan box set. Trojan Reloaded was created focusing on new music that has been influenced and inspired by the famed Trojan Records catalogue. Aiming to work with leading talent in the UK, including: artists, producers, sound systems and DJ’s, Trojan Reloaded was created to release a host of new remixes and adaptations, re-imagining original Trojan classics, alongside brand new repertoire. This was the first 45 released on the label showcasing the Reggae Roast Soundsystem and on the flip side a remix by DJ Madd. Reggae Roast is Adam Prescott who has been releasing music under his own name as well as Reggae Roast since 2010. FLAC