Laurel & Hardy were a British reggae cockney deejay duo best known for their hit single "Clunk Click".
Phaul (Paul) Dawkins (aka Laurel) (October 10th 1963- October 3rd 2022) and Anthony Robinson (aka Hardy) had originally worked together as a soul duo, but found more success after moving into reggae in 1978, initially performing under the name Reverend T and Pope Paul, along with a female singer known as the Virgin Mary. [1] By the time of the release of their debut single ("You're Nicked") on Fashion Records in 1982, they were performing as Laurel & Hardy, adopting bowler hats, bow ties and suits in imitation of the comedy duo. [1] They also made several television appearances which included The Tube and No. 73 . "You're Nicked" was successful enough to get the duo signed by CBS Records, and they toured the UK supporting Pigbag, and then as headliners supported by Benjamin Zephaniah. [1] They recorded a session for John Peel's BBC Radio 1 show in October 1982, for which they were backed by a band "The Lavender Hill Mob" including guitarist John Kpiaye and Aswad's Angus Gaye. [2] They recorded another session for David Jensen's show in March 1983. [3]
Their most successful release was "Clunk Click", the title a reference to a campaign to get people to wear car seatbelts. It reached number 65 in the UK Singles Chart in 1983 and they appeared several times on national television to promote it. [1] [4] [5] They released a further single for CBS but were then dropped, returning to smaller labels for later releases. They released one album while together, What a Bargain (1983). They also appeared in the Channel 4 comedy No Problems (1984 ) as Bim & Bam.[ citation needed ].
Laurel (Paul Dawkins) died in October 2022.
| Authority control databases: Artists |
|---|
