Brinsley Forde MBE (born 16 October 1953) is a British singer and actor of Guyanese parentage who is best known as the founder member of the reggae band Aswad and as a child actor in the children's television series Here Come the Double Deckers! (1970–71).[1][2]

Brinsley Forde
Forde in 2009
Born
Brinsley Allan Forde

(1953-10-16) 16 October 1953 (age 71)
Islington, London, England
Years active1970–present
Musical career
InstrumentsVocals, guitar
Formerly ofAswad

Biography

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Acting

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Forde appeared as Herman in two episodes of the television sitcom Please Sir!.[3] He appeared as Wesley in the feature film of the same name in 1971. Forde's feature film debut had come a year earlier when he played a substantial role in the John Boorman film Leo the Last (1970), which was filmed in West London in the streets soon to be demolished to make way for the Lancaster West Estate.[4] Forde appeared in the James Bond film Diamonds Are Forever and the television programme The Georgian House.[5][6] In 1980, he starred in the drama film Babylon (directed by Franco Rosso), as Blue, a disenfranchised youth who becomes a deejay on a South London reggae soundsystem.[7]

Music

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Forde presented VH1 Soul Vibrations, BBC's Ebony & Ebony on the road, and was one of the radio presenters to open the BBC's first digital station 6 Music with his radio show Lively Up Yourself and Dub Bashment. Forde can be heard presenting the radio documentaries Behind The Smile: The Real Life of Bob Marley and Island Rock to mark the 40th anniversary of Jamaican independence.[8][9]

A two-time Grammy Award nominee with the reggae group Aswad, Forde scored a British number-one chart hit with "Don't Turn Around" in 1988, followed by another top 20 chart hit, "Give A Little Love". The band continued to feature in the top 20 on the British charts with the album Distant Thunder, and the tracks "On and On", "Next to You" and "Shine".[citation needed]

In September 2009, Forde appeared with Dizzee Rascal performing "Can't Tek No More" from the latter's album Tongue n' Cheek on the BBC Two show Later... with Jools Holland. Forde followed this up with a repeat performance as part of the BBC Electric Proms in October 2009.

Honours

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Forde was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2015 New Year Honours for services to the arts.[10][11]

Filmography

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Film

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Title Role Year(s)
Leo the Last Bip 1970
Diamonds Are Forever Joshua, houseboy 1971
Babylon Blue 1980
Goodbye Charlie Bright Floyd 2001

Television

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Title Role Year(s)
Here Come the Double Deckers Spring 1970–1971
Please Sir! Wesley 1971
The Georgian House Ngo, Slaveboy 1976

Discography

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Albums

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Year Album
1976 Aswad
1979 Hulet
1981 New Chapter
Showcase
1982 A New Chapter of Dub
Not Satisfied
1983 Live and Direct
1984 Rebel Souls
1986 To the Top
1988 Jah Shaka Meets Aswad in Addis Ababa Studio
Renaissance – 20 Crucial Tracks
Distant Thunder
1989 Crucial Tracks (Best of Aswad)
1990 Too Wicked
Next to You
1993 Firesticks
1994 Rise and Shine
1995 Greatest Hits
Dub: The Next Frontier
Rise and Shine Again!
1997 Big Up
Roots Rocking: Island Anthology
1999 Roots Revival
2001 25 Live: 25th Anniversary
2002 Cool Summer Reggae
2009 City Lock

Singles

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Year Single
1984 "Chasing for the Breeze"
"54-46 (Was My Number)"
"Need Your Love"
1985 "Bubbling"
1986 "Kool Noh"
"Pull Up"
1987 "Hooked on You"
1988 "Don't Turn Around"
"Give a Little Love"
"Set Them Free"
1989 "Beauty's Only Skin Deep"
"On and On"
1990 "Next to You"
"Smile"
1991 "Best of My Love"
1993 "How Long" (with Yazz)
"Dancehall Mood"
1994 "Shine"
"Warriors"
"We Are One People"
1995 "You're No Good"
"If I Was"
1997 "One Shot Chilla"
"Roxanne"
1998 "Invisible Sun" (with Sting)
1999 "Follow '99"
2002 "Shy Guy"

References

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  1. ^ Perry, Kediesha (20 March 2019). "Brinsley Forde finally sees Babylon". Jamaica Observer.
  2. ^ Snow, Mat (5 March 1991). "Q&A". Q Magazine. 55: 34.
  3. ^ "Brinsley Forde". aveleyman.com.
  4. ^ "Leo the Last (1970)". BFI. Archived from the original on 17 August 2016.
  5. ^ "Brinsley Forde". BFI. Archived from the original on 19 December 2017.
  6. ^ Marcus, Laurence. "The Georgian House". Television Heaven.
  7. ^ Fear, David (8 March 2019). "'Babylon' Rising: The Resurrection of a Controversial U.K. Reggae Movie". Rolling Stone.
  8. ^ "BBC Radio 6 Music – 6 Music Plays It Again, Bob Marley: Behind the Smile".
  9. ^ "Island Rock ? 40 Years of Jamaican Musical Independence: 3: Uptown Top Rankin'". BBC Genome. 26 June 2002. p. 130.
  10. ^ "No. 61092". The London Gazette (Supplement). 31 December 2014. p. N19.
  11. ^ "2015 New Year Honours List" (PDF). Gov.uk. Retrieved 20 May 2020.
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