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The Soul II Soul StoryLife for Soul II Soul began as a sound system in the early 80's. Through playing at various house blues parties, street parties and local youth clubs, they began to gain a steady following, and more members began to join Jazzie B and Daddae Harvey, namely 'Q' and Aitch B. As time went on the guys began to adopt a style which became known as 'Funki Dred', namely refering to the Dreadlocked hairstyle. They also started wearing similar T-shirts woth the finki dred logo, this also caught on and soon the demand for the T-shirts meant that they had to go into production. A clothing range soon followed- and the business side of SIIS took off with them taking residence initially in a small shop in Camden, selling a wide range of Funki Dred clothing and a record section. Whilst the group were expanding on a comersial clothing level, musically things were happening too. By the late 80's looking for other areas to expand into, Jazzie and the had been busy creating their own sounds, with singer Rose Windross a regular at the African Centre - the dub plates began attracting the attention of the record companies and soon Soul II Soul signed to Virgin10 records which led to the release of their debut track; Fairplay, featuring Rose Windross. Although it did not become a massive chart hit, the track did become a massive underground club hit -and still is today. A second single 'Feel Free' with singer Do'Reen was later released - again this did not make a strong dent on the national charts, but it did go to number one on the dance charts. The third single 'Keep On Movin' featured Caron Wheeler and zoomed straight into the national charts at number 5. Sucess had arrived for Jazzie B and the Funki Dreds and there was no turning back. 'Back To Life' the follow up single exceeded all expectations and shot to Number one in every chart, making SIIS an instant worldwide name. The sucess of the singles meant that SIIS began appearing on a variety of shows both in the UK and worldwide. Along with this they were still keeping up their DJ'ing dates at the Fridge in Brixton south London every Friday. The SIIS tour went to places as far appart as America, Milan, Japan, Australia, South America, and throughout Europe. Other singles and albums followed (see Discography) and the name Soul II Soul became a regular fixture on the charts worldwide. In recognition the group have won many awards including : Soul Train Awards, Grammy's, and various Dance Awards, plus numerous Gold and Platinum awards worldwide in recognition of massive record sales. As time has gone on SIIS have settled down into their own base in a converted warehouse in Camden. Jazzie B converted the warehouse into an all purpose building contaning 3 studios (24 and 48 track), plus a Writing Suite, Reception area and office space. Having this space has meant that all SIIS albums can now easily be recorded in our own space at our own time. Jazie B has also become well know for his productin tallents working as a producer and remixing for artistes like James Brown, Cheryl Lynn, Monie Love, The Chimes, Fine Young Canibals, Family Stand and Alyson Williams. 1995 saw the release of the 5th SIIS album entitled 'Believe' ,and the message remains the same, ...A HAPPY FACE A THUMPIN' BASS FOR A LOVIN' RACE... |
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