Trevor Hartley - Hartical (1994)

1958, Morant Bay, St. Thomas, Jamaica, West Indies. Dreaming of becoming a singer in his youth, Hartley managed to voice two sides on rhythms recycled from the Morwells at Joe Gibbs’ studio, which eventually saw release on the Pele label. He moved to London in the late 70s, recording with Dennis Bovell on the 1978 double a-side, ‘Selassie I’/‘Skip Away’, followed by sessions with Phil Pratt for his debut album. Unfortunately, shortly after its release the record label went under, neutering its impact. Following a liaison with Sugar Minott’s Black Roots label on ‘Africa’, Hartley worked with Arawak on two 45s before a placement with Top Ranking. Neither yielded the breakthrough Hartley’s obvious talents deserved. A revision of the Maze /Frankie Beverly nugget, ‘Call On Me, ’ at least pushed him back into the reggae charts, and his profile was boosted by his participation in the British Reggae Artists Famine Appeal (BRAPA) as a featured vocalist, alongside Aswad and many others. He topped the UK reggae charts again in 1988 with ‘Hooked On You’, which brought him a contract with London Records. However, like so many before him, the liaison between raw reggae talent and a major label proved a mismatch. Their relationship was not a happy one, although it did yield one minor hit, ‘Nine Til Five’. The 90s saw him recording with a variety of production teams, notably Mad Professor and Mafia And Fluxy.