formed ca. 1969, The Undivided was one of 1970s reggae bands playing the London scene and touring the UK.
Band history[]
As they weren't one of the studio bands for Trojan, Pama et. al., they had to look for another section of the business and found it with a contract to the major label Decca. Rico joined the band for their debut LP Listen To The World in 1973. The album was principally made of covers of pop songs. Rico told Klaus Frederking in 1981 that they've been "the best band in town. During Carnival 1974 and 1975 they said we've been the best band. We've been the only group playing with a horn section. But we've got not enough money for the gigs, seventy or eighty pound, and the PA-system and the transport were at our charge. We've been ten people in the band. It was financially so hard that we broke up slowly. Those promoters who promoted The Undivided, didn't have a longterm plan with us. They were interested in a quick return. If that would have been otherwise, we'd exist till this day." [1] Rico left the band for his Man From Wareika project ca. 1975. The beginning of The Univided may be in 1969 as then DJ Castro Brown "spent several years touring the UK as a DJ-cum-MC with the first line-up of The Undivided Band, ..." [2] Roy Shirley remembers a situation when he worked with the group as his studio band (quoted in the same book, p. 43): In 1973 "Russel Coke [of Magnet] gave me about £ 600 to record eight or nine tracks with The Undivided Band, out of which I had to pay the band and other expenses. Some of these tunes, like "Endlessly" and "When You're Young", were sellers." Ca. 1977 Dennis Harris used a studio band producing Lovers Rock for his DIP labels comprising John Kpiaye (lead guitar), Ronnie (rhythm guitar), Delroy (p) as well as Bunny & Floyd from The Undivided on drums and bass. [3] The group recorded again in 1987 and called this second album The Original Undivided.
Discography[]
1974[]
Listen To The World (LP: DECCA SKL.5168) [4]
1985[]
The Original Undivided (LP: Must Dance MDLP 001) [5]
References[]
<references>
- ↑ Klaus Frederking: Rico. Der Mann aus Wareika: unbeirrbar, in: Rock Session 6. Magazin der populären Musik / Hg. von Walter Hartmann u. Gregor Pott. Red,: Klaus Humann. - Reinbek bei Hamburg: Rowohlt Taschenbuch Verlag, Januar 1982, pp. 240/241; 'translated back' by braunov, sorry for my English.
- ↑ Tighten Up! The History Of Reggae In The UK / Michael de Koningh & Marc Griffith. - London: Sanctuary, 2003., p. 137
- ↑ Koningh 2003, aao., p. 124
- ↑ https://www.discogs.com/de/The-Undivided-Listen-To-The-World/master/1128242 @ Discogs
- ↑ https://www.discogs.com/de/The-Undivided-The-Original-Undivided/release/4512299 @ Disgogs