Wayne Wade

b. c.1960, Kingston, Jamaica, West Indies. Wade began his singing career in the mid-70s and was hailed as the latest prodigy produced by Yabby You through the Grove Music collective. His initial success came in 1976 with ‘Black Is Our Colour’, released on the newly formed Mango label. The success of the single was followed with an interpretation of the Paragons’ ‘Happy Go Lucky Girl’, which demonstrated his refined vocals. The song was an instant hit, which led to the release of a discomix in 1977 featuring DJ Prince Pompado, with ‘I Kissed A Rose’ on the b-side. Realizing the potential of covering Paragon hits, Wade recorded ‘On The Beach’, which was equally popular and also surfaced in discomix style with DJ Ranking Trevor. Wade subsequently interpreted other rocksteady hits, including ‘Everybody Bawling’, ‘I Can’t Hide’ and ‘You Don’t Want Me’. In the early 80s he recorded with Dillinger for his Oak Sound productions. Wade appeared alongside the producer and the Tamlins, Al Campbell, and Trinity for the successful ‘Five Man Army’. Other releases included ‘Kings Of Kings’, ‘Now I Know’ and, with Tommy McCook, ‘Riding Forward’. In 1981 Wade enjoyed hits with the Linval Thompson -produced ‘Round The World’, ‘Tell Me What’s Going On’, ‘Poor And Humble’ and ‘Down In Iran’. By 1983 Wade settled in the Netherlands where he recorded a version of Lionel Richie’s ‘Lady’. Wade signed a contract with Epic Records that resulted in a summer re-release of ‘Lady’, followed in the autumn by the less successful ‘Try Again’. Wade continued to record but he has yet to recapture the past glories of his work with Yabby You.