WOMAD

The Wailers

From Jamaica

Together with Bob Marley, the Wailers have sold in excess of 250 million albums worldwide. In England alone, they’ve notched up over twenty chart hits, including seven Top 10 entries. Outside of their groundbreaking work with Marley, the Wailers have also played with international acts like the Fugees, Stevie Wonder, Taj Mahal, Joe Cocker, and Alpha Blondy, as well as reggae legends such as Peter Tosh, Bunny Wailer, and Burning Spear. As the greatest living exponents of Jamaica’s reggae tradition, the Wailers have completed innumerable other tours, playing to an estimated 24 million people across the globe. They have also been the first reggae band to tour new territories on many occasions, including Africa and the Far East. Their nucleus formed in 1969, when Bob Marley, Bunny Wailer, and Peter Tosh recruited the Barrett brothers from Lee "Scratch" Perry’s stable (where they were known as the Upsetters) to play on unforgettable hits such as Lively Up Yourself, Trenchtown Rock, Duppy Conqueror, and many more besides. After signing to Island Records in 1971, these in-demand session musicians became known as the Wailers, and then backed Bob Marley on the succession of hit singles and albums that made their lead singer a global icon, and the Third World’s first ever musical superstar. Drummer Carlton “Carlie” Barrett died in 1987, leaving bassist / bandleader Aston "Family Man" Barrett as the main beneficiary of the Wailers' mantle. Apart from Family Man himself, their current line-up includes Al Anderson, Junior Marvin, and keyboard player Earl "Wya" Lindo, who played on many of those unforgettable stage and studio performances by Bob Marley & The Wailers from the seventies. Other band members include former City Heat singer Gary Pine; horn players Glen Da Costa and Junior “Chico” Chin, and keyboardist Keith Sterling. This trio of highly acclaimed musicians have played on countless reggae classics over the years, including songs by Peter Tosh, Dennis Brown, Augustus Pablo, and Israel Vibration. Heard in unison, they bring an authenticity to the present Wailers' sound that reflects the golden age of roots reggae to spellbinding effect. With such a strong line-up in place, and so many familiar hits to draw upon, the Wailers continue to attract enthusiastic audiences from around the world, as their recent tours of the Americas and Far East can attest. It is for this reason that UB40 have invited the Wailers to accompany them on a 22-date tour of the UK, beginning in Belfast on November 23rd, and finishing on December 12th at the Birmingham NEC. This follows a series of Wailers’ solo dates in Scandinavia and Europe, culminating in an eagerly awaited appearance on BBC’s Later With Jools Holland.

The Wailers

From Jamaica

Together with Bob Marley, the Wailers have sold in excess of 250 million albums worldwide. In England alone, they’ve notched up over twenty chart hits, including seven Top 10 entries. Outside of their groundbreaking work with Marley, the Wailers have also played with international acts like the Fugees, Stevie Wonder, Taj Mahal, Joe Cocker, and Alpha Blondy, as well as reggae legends such as Peter Tosh, Bunny Wailer, and Burning Spear. As the greatest living exponents of Jamaica’s reggae tradition, the Wailers have completed innumerable other tours, playing to an estimated 24 million people across the globe. They have also been the first reggae band to tour new territories on many occasions, including Africa and the Far East. Their nucleus formed in 1969, when Bob Marley, Bunny Wailer, and Peter Tosh recruited the Barrett brothers from Lee "Scratch" Perry’s stable (where they were known as the Upsetters) to play on unforgettable hits such as Lively Up Yourself, Trenchtown Rock, Duppy Conqueror, and many more besides. After signing to Island Records in 1971, these in-demand session musicians became known as the Wailers, and then backed Bob Marley on the succession of hit singles and albums that made their lead singer a global icon, and the Third World’s first ever musical superstar. Drummer Carlton “Carlie” Barrett died in 1987, leaving bassist / bandleader Aston "Family Man" Barrett as the main beneficiary of the Wailers' mantle. Apart from Family Man himself, their current line-up includes Al Anderson, Junior Marvin, and keyboard player Earl "Wya" Lindo, who played on many of those unforgettable stage and studio performances by Bob Marley & The Wailers from the seventies. Other band members include former City Heat singer Gary Pine; horn players Glen Da Costa and Junior “Chico” Chin, and keyboardist Keith Sterling. This trio of highly acclaimed musicians have played on countless reggae classics over the years, including songs by Peter Tosh, Dennis Brown, Augustus Pablo, and Israel Vibration. Heard in unison, they bring an authenticity to the present Wailers' sound that reflects the golden age of roots reggae to spellbinding effect. With such a strong line-up in place, and so many familiar hits to draw upon, the Wailers continue to attract enthusiastic audiences from around the world, as their recent tours of the Americas and Far East can attest. It is for this reason that UB40 have invited the Wailers to accompany them on a 22-date tour of the UK, beginning in Belfast on November 23rd, and finishing on December 12th at the Birmingham NEC. This follows a series of Wailers’ solo dates in Scandinavia and Europe, culminating in an eagerly awaited appearance on BBC’s Later With Jools Holland.

The Wailers

From Jamaica

Together with Bob Marley, the Wailers have sold in excess of 250 million albums worldwide. In England alone, they’ve notched up over twenty chart hits, including seven Top 10 entries. Outside of their groundbreaking work with Marley, the Wailers have also played with international acts like the Fugees, Stevie Wonder, Taj Mahal, Joe Cocker, and Alpha Blondy, as well as reggae legends such as Peter Tosh, Bunny Wailer, and Burning Spear. As the greatest living exponents of Jamaica’s reggae tradition, the Wailers have completed innumerable other tours, playing to an estimated 24 million people across the globe. They have also been the first reggae band to tour new territories on many occasions, including Africa and the Far East. Their nucleus formed in 1969, when Bob Marley, Bunny Wailer, and Peter Tosh recruited the Barrett brothers from Lee "Scratch" Perry’s stable (where they were known as the Upsetters) to play on unforgettable hits such as Lively Up Yourself, Trenchtown Rock, Duppy Conqueror, and many more besides. After signing to Island Records in 1971, these in-demand session musicians became known as the Wailers, and then backed Bob Marley on the succession of hit singles and albums that made their lead singer a global icon, and the Third World’s first ever musical superstar. Drummer Carlton “Carlie” Barrett died in 1987, leaving bassist / bandleader Aston "Family Man" Barrett as the main beneficiary of the Wailers' mantle. Apart from Family Man himself, their current line-up includes Al Anderson, Junior Marvin, and keyboard player Earl "Wya" Lindo, who played on many of those unforgettable stage and studio performances by Bob Marley & The Wailers from the seventies. Other band members include former City Heat singer Gary Pine; horn players Glen Da Costa and Junior “Chico” Chin, and keyboardist Keith Sterling. This trio of highly acclaimed musicians have played on countless reggae classics over the years, including songs by Peter Tosh, Dennis Brown, Augustus Pablo, and Israel Vibration. Heard in unison, they bring an authenticity to the present Wailers' sound that reflects the golden age of roots reggae to spellbinding effect. With such a strong line-up in place, and so many familiar hits to draw upon, the Wailers continue to attract enthusiastic audiences from around the world, as their recent tours of the Americas and Far East can attest. It is for this reason that UB40 have invited the Wailers to accompany them on a 22-date tour of the UK, beginning in Belfast on November 23rd, and finishing on December 12th at the Birmingham NEC. This follows a series of Wailers’ solo dates in Scandinavia and Europe, culminating in an eagerly awaited appearance on BBC’s Later With Jools Holland.