Starting with Musical Youth‘s simple proclamation in 1982, “This Generation Rules the Nation”, five school kids from Birmingham launched themselves into Pop Music history with their legendary Reggae hit, “Pass the Dutchie”. Then just boys, Dennis, Michael, Kelvin, Patrick and Junior launched themselves on an unsuspecting public as their song, and message, surged to number 1 in the UK within two weeks of release and went on to sell over 5 million copies around the world.
Going on to become the first reggae song in the United States to hit Top 10 on the Billboard Charts, Musical Youth staked their claim in Pop History. Following on their initial success, Musical Youth brought reggae out of the ghettos and into pop mainstream with singles like ‘The Youth of Today’, ‘Never Gonna Give You Up’, ‘Heartbreaker’, ‘007’, ‘Tell Me Why’, and ‘Sixteen’, as well as two albums The Youth of Today and Different Style.
The group became a symbol of achievement, hope and pride for people of all ages, creeds, nationalities and color around the world. Their combined talent and hard work reaped it’s reward and won them respect, culminating in their Grammy Award nomination as Best New Artist in 1984.
They toured throughout the world, exchanging numbers with Michael Jackson and Motown legend Stevie Wonder, who wrote a song especially for them. The band went on to record “Unconditional Love” with disco diva Donna Summer and also collaborated with Irene Cara (Flashdance) and Jody Watley (Shalamar) on “Sixteen”, as well as a duet with Latoya Jackson. Headlining the famous Montreux Jazz Festival and the world renowned Reggae Sunsplash, the band’s radio success translated into touring, merchandising and more.
Musical Youth is now fronted by lead singer, Dennis Seaton, with keyboard player/vocalist Michael Grant, and backed by a 6-piece live band. Their new album, entitled When Reggae Was King, slated for release from Thump Records in summer 2020, is a collection of pop-reggae songs, inspired by their generation and celebrates reggae music and its positive influence throughout the world.
Dennis and Michael are looking forward to sharing the new material with Musical Youth fans around the globe, and plans to celebrate the immortal words of “Pass The Dutchie” in person when touring resumes sometime soon.