Grace Jones, Aswad (Brinsley Forde, Drummie Zeb and Tony Gad), the i-Threes (featuring Rita Marley, Marcia Griffiths and Erica Newell), VV Brown and Tinchy Stryder will be the featured singers with Sly & Robbie and The Compass Point All Stars on Tuesday 26th May at Shepherds Bush Empire as part of the previously announced Island 50th birthday celebrations. Each of these will perform a song or two (or even three) from Island’s illustrious back catalogue with one of the most famous Jamaican rhythm sections of all time.

Grace Jones signed to Island in 1977 and really hit her stride when Chris Blackwell suggested she work at the Island studios in Compass Point with Sly & Robbie; together they created many of her signature songs including ‘Private Life’, ‘Pull Up To The Bumper’, ‘My Jamaican Guy’ and ‘Nipple To The Bottle’. Aswad, the UK’s most successful reggae group, signed to Island in ’76 and this performance with Sly & Robbie will reunite original members Brinsley Forde, Drummie Zeb and Tony Gad for the first time since 2000. The i-Threes were Bob Marley & The Wailers’ legendary backing singers. VV Brown, singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist/producer and fashion darling is a recent signing to Island and will release her debut album “Travelling Like The Light” in June ‘09. Tinchy Stryder, another new millenium Island artist, has come from the underground grime scene to top the charts this week with his third single ‘Number One’ taken from his debut album which is coming out this summer.

26th May – SLY & ROBBIE & THE COMPASS POINT ALLSTARS featuring GRACE JONES, ASWAD, THE I-THREES, TINCHY STRYDER, VV BROWN.

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