Sylvia Tella

Last updated

Sylvia Tella
Birth nameSilifatu Mornii Wehabie Tella
Born (1961-11-30) 30 November 1961 (age 62)
Origin Manchester, England
Genres Lovers rock
Occupation(s)Singer-songwriter
Instrument(s)Vocals
Years active1970s–present

Sylvia Tella (born Silifatu Mornii Wehabie Tella in 1961) is a British lovers rock singer, who after working as a backing band vocalist for Boney M embarked on a successful solo career, releasing her first album in 1981. She had a top 40 hit in 1989 in collaboration with the Blow Monkeys and again in 1990/1991 with Pop Will Eat Itself.

Contents

Biography

Born in 1961 in Manchester, England to Nigerian parents, Tella's career began as a part of the Black Beautiful Circus. A backing band that supported Boney M. during their live concerts in the period 1977 – 1979. She was briefly part of a quartet "Anderson" who sang at the 1979 Irish final for the Eurovision Song Contest along with Ian Campbel, Sally Kemp and Alan Brown with the song "Goodbye". After the Black Beautiful Circus split up, she recorded as a solo artist, initially under the guidance of veteran reggae artist Lloyd Charmers. [1] Her 1981 debut album, Spell, became one of the best-selling lovers rock albums of all time. [2]

In 1983 she provided backing vocals on the Alton Ellis album Daydreaming. In the late 1980s she had a major success on the UK reggae chart with "Spell", and contributed to a charity record in aid of victims of Hurricane Gilbert released under the collective name Windjammer. [1] She then collaborated with the Blow Monkeys, having a hit single in 1989 with "Choice" (which reached number 22), and another minor hit with "Slaves No More" (#73) three months later. [3] Sylvia provided lead vocals for 92 °F on Pop Will Eat Itself's 1990 EP "Very Metal Noise Pollution" (#45) and subsequent album Cure for Sanity (#33), and backing vocals for the single version of 92 °F which reached 22 in the singles charts in 1991. In 1996 she had several successes on the reggae chart both with Vivian Jones, and solo with "Searching for the One" and "Happy Home". [1]

In 1997 she toured internationally with Saint and Campbell, appeared at London's Notting Hill Carnival alongside Beenie Man and the Main Street Crew, and received a nomination for Best British Reggae Artist at the MOBO Awards. [1] A second album was issued in 2000, recorded mostly in New York City and produced by Sidney Mills of Steel Pulse. [2]

Discography

Compilations

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Boney M.</span> German disco group

Boney M. are a disco group that specialises in R&B, reggae, disco and funk, created by German record producer Frank Farian, who was the group's primary songwriter. Originally based in West Germany, the four original members of the group's official line-up were Liz Mitchell and Marcia Barrett from Jamaica, Maizie Williams from Montserrat, and Bobby Farrell from Aruba. The group was formed in 1976 and achieved popularity during the disco era of the late 1970s. Since the 1980s, various line-ups of the band have performed with differing personnel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jonathan Richman</span> American singer, songwriter and guitarist (born 1951)

Jonathan Michael Richman is an American singer, songwriter and guitarist. In 1970, he founded the Modern Lovers, an influential proto-punk band. Since the mid-1970s, Richman has worked either solo or with low-key acoustic and electric backing. He is known for his wide-eyed, unaffected, and childlike outlook, and music that, while rooted in rock and roll, is influenced by music from around the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Blow Monkeys</span> British new wave/sophisti-pop band

The Blow Monkeys are a British pop band formed in 1981. Their first single, "Live Today Love Tomorrow", was released in 1982. They subsequently enjoyed a successful career with several hit singles and albums throughout the 1980s before splitting up at the beginning of the 1990s. Their first hit song was "Digging Your Scene" which hit No. 12 on the UK Singles Chart and No. 14 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart in August 1986. They had four albums and eleven singles in the UK charts between 1986 and 1990.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maizie Williams</span> British model and singer (born 1951)

Maizie Ursula Williams is a British model, dancer and singer who became one of the original members of the successful 1970s disco music group Boney M. Though she did not sing on the studio recordings of their songs, she did perform live and subsequently established an independent career as a singer.

People from the Caribbean have made significant contributions to British Black music for many generations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Caron Wheeler</span> Musical artist

Caron Melina Wheeler is an English singer, songwriter, record producer and musician. Born and raised in London, she performed in various singing competitions as a teenager and began her recording career as one of the founding members of Brown Sugar. She was also one of the founding members of the female backing vocalist group Afrodiziak. She officially rose to fame in the late 1980s as the lead singer of R&B group Soul II Soul. Managed by her bandmate, Jazzie B, the group became one of London's best-selling groups in the 1990s. Their debut album, Club Classics Vol. One (1989), which established them as a global success worldwide, earned two Grammy Awards and featured the UK and Billboard number-one singles "Keep on Movin'" and "Back to Life ".

Diane Catherine Sealy, known as Dee C. Lee or Dee C Lee, is a British singer. Born to Saint Lucian parents, she grew up in south-east London. Early in her career, she was a member of the British band Central Line under the aliases Dee Sealy in 1981 and Dee C. Lee in 1983. She was a backing singer for Wham!, then released her first solo single, "Selina Wow Wow", in 1984. She started working with the Style Council in 1984, while continuing as a solo artist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marcia Barrett</span> Jamaican-British singer (born 1948)

Marcia Barrett is a Jamaican-British singer and one of the original singers with the vocal group Boney M.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mother and Child Reunion</span> 1972 single by Paul Simon

"Mother and Child Reunion" is a song by the American singer-songwriter Paul Simon. It was the lead single from his second studio album, Paul Simon (1972), released on Columbia Records. The song reached No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in March 1972.

<i>She Was Only a Grocers Daughter</i> 1987 studio album by the Blow Monkeys

She Was Only a Grocer's Daughter is the third album by British pop band the Blow Monkeys, originally released in 1987.

<i>Choices – The Singles Collection</i> 1989 greatest hits album by The Blow Monkeys

Choices – The Singles Collection is a compilation album by British band The Blow Monkeys, released in 1989 by RCA and distributed by BMG / Ariola. The album includes most of the band's singles and features genres from the new wave of their debut album to pop rock and funky evolution, up to their discovery of the potentialities of the new dance revolution, a genre that they embraced on their final album, Springtime for the World, which was released the following year, shortly before they split up.

<i>Blow Monkeys the Masters</i> 1997 compilation album by The Blow Monkeys

Blow Monkeys The Masters is a compilation album from British pop band The Blow Monkeys, released in 1997 by the Eagle label, for its well-known "Eagle Series", presenting many UK group's master collections.

<i>Digging Your Scene: The Best of The Blow Monkeys</i> 2008 greatest hits album by The Blow Monkeys

Digging Your Scene: The Best of The Blow Monkeys is a double greatest hits album, released on 4 February 2008 by British band The Blow Monkeys. Led by singer, guitarist, piano and keyboard player Dr. Robert, the group formed in the early 1980s and disbanded in 1990. After that, Dr. Robert went on to pursue a solo career. The Blow Monkeys recently reformed, with the aim of touring and releasing a brand new album.

Carroll Thompson is a British lovers rock singer, best known as the "Queen of Lovers Rock"

<i>The Spirits in It</i> 1981 studio album by Patti LaBelle

The Spirit's in It is the fifth studio album by American singer Patti LaBelle. It was released by Philadelphia International Records on August 28, 1981, in the United States, her first with the label.

Helen Rogers is a British singer/songwriter who has been active since 1978. She has been featured vocalist with Brit funk bands Direct Drive and 7th Heaven. She has also been a session singer for Paul Hardcastle.

<i>Very Metal Noise Pollution</i> 1989 EP by Pop Will Eat Itself

Very Metal Noise Pollution is an EP released by British Grebo band Pop Will Eat Itself between their albums This Is the Day...This Is the Hour...This Is This! and Cure for Sanity. It was released in a very large range of different CD, vinyl, and cassette formats all containing the identical track listing. The EP reached 45 on the Official UK Charts.

<i>Emotion</i> (Juice Newton album) 1987 studio album by Juice Newton

Emotion is the eighth solo studio album by American country pop singer Juice Newton. It was released by RCA Records in 1987 and was the last of Newton's albums to appear on the Billboard charts.

<i>Hopelessly in Love</i> 1981 studio album by Carroll Thompson

Hopelessly in Love is the debut album by English lovers rock singer Carroll Thompson, released in early 1981 by Carib Gems Records. The album followed, and includes, her two Leonard Chin-produced singles "I'm So Sorry" and "Simply in Love", which topped the British reggae charts. Thompson co-created C & B Productions, a first for a female reggae singer in Britain, and under this credit wrote and produced the album, working additionally with producer Anthony Richards. Backed by Thompson's C & B band, the album exemplifies the soul-infused mellow reggae style typical to lovers rock and Thompson's sweetly voice, with her songs discussing themes of romance and love.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Larkin, Colin (2006) The Encyclopedia of Popular Music, Oxford University Press
  2. 1 2 Barrow, Steve & Dalton, Peter (2004) The Rough Guide to Reggae, 3rd edn., Rough Guides, ISBN   1-84353-329-4, p. 400
  3. ↑ "Blow Monkeys Featuring Sylvia Tella", Official Charts
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.