Pato Banton
(born Patrick Murray
c.1960) is a reggae singer and toaster from Birmingham, England.
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PATO BANTON TICKETS
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Biography
Born in Birmingham, Banton first came to public attention in the early 1980s when he worked with
The Beat.
[1] He recorded "Pato and Roger a Go Talk" with
Ranking Roger, included on the 1982 album
Special Beat Service
.
[2] He went on to record a series of singles for
Fashion Records and Don Christie Records.
He was one of the guest artists that appeared on the
UB40 album Baggariddim in 1985. Banton's debut album was the 1985,
Mad Professor-produced
Mad Professor Captures Pato Banton
, followed in 1987 by
Never Give In
, which included a collaboration with
Paul Shaffer and a follow-up to his earlier collaboration with ranking Roger with "Pato and Roger Come Again".
[3] After an
EP in 1988, Banton released a more pop-oriented
LP,
Visions of the World
, followed by 1990's
Wize Up! (No Compromise)
, which included a
college radio hit in
Spirits in the Material World
(
The Police cover) and another collaboration, "Wize Up!", this time with
David Hinds of
Steel Pulse.
Banton then worked on a live album and with
Mad Professor, and then released 1992's
Universal Love
. After a 1994
British #1 hit in
Baby Come Back
(originally by
Eddy Grant performing with
The Equals), with
Robin and
Ali Campbell of
UB40,
a best-of album was released, and banton was invited by
Sting to join him on his "Cowboy Song" single.
1996's
Stay Positive
was followed by
Life Is a Miracle
in 2000.
Life Is a Miracle
received a
Grammy nomination for
Best Reggae Album in
2001 [4]. Recently, Banton has been playing with Mystic Roots, a reggae band formed in
Chico, California. Banton, a lifelong Wolverhampton Wanderers fan has always disapproved of the sacking of manager
Dave Jones after a particularly dismal 2004 season. He made his views public during a recent match when he came onto the pitch at half-time to sing "Come back, Davey come Back" a revised version of his 1994 number one hit.
Trivia
- Banton received the nickname Pato
(Jamaican Patois for "wise owl") from his stepfather, and Banton
from the disc jockey slang for a "heavyweight DJ".
- Sublime (band) covered his song King Step.
- The Beastie Boys sample his song "Don't Sniff Coke" in The Sounds of Science single.
- In 1995 "Spirits Of The Material World" in Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls single.
- The line 'I do not sniff coke, I smoke sensimilla' is used in the song Hemp Rally by Total Devastation.
Discography
- Mad Professor Captures Pato Banton
(1985)
- Never Give In
(1987)
- Visions Of The World
(1989)
- Mad Professor Recaptures Pato Banton
(1990)
- Wize Up! (No Compromize)
(1990)
- Live & Kickin All Over America
(1991)
- Universal Love
(1992)
- Collections
(1994)
- Stay Positive
(1996)
- Tudo De Bom - Live In Brazil
(2000)
- Life Is A Miracle
(2000)
- Live At The Maritime - San Francisco
(2001)
- The Best Of Pato Banton
(2002)
- Positive Vibrations
(2007)
- Pato Banton and Friends
(2008)
- Destination Paradise
(2008)
References
- Barrow, Steve & Dalton, Peter (2004) ''The Rough Guide to Reggae, 3rd edn.'', Rough Guides, ISBN 1-84353-329-4, p.403
- Larkin, Colin (1998) ''The Virgin Encyclopedia of Reggae'', Virgin Books, ISBN 0-7535-0242-9, p.19-20
- Moskowitz, David V. (2006) ''Caribbean Popular Music: an Encyclopedia of Reggae, Mento, Ska, Rock Steady, and Dancehall'', Greenwood Press, ISBN 0-313-33158-8, p.21-22
- CNN.com - Entertainment - 43rd Grammy Awards - February 21, 2001