Horace Andy and Bunny Lee reunite on ‘A Serious Thing’

Quick background for the record. Andy was born Horace Hinds in Kingston on February 19, 1951. They called him ‘Sleepy’ because of that relaxed, heavy-lidded look, which couldn’t be further from that high tenor of his.
After his first steps at Studio One, he built a defining partnership with Edward O’Sullivan Lee, better known as Bunny ‘Striker’ Lee, or ‘The Gorgon’. Lee was born in Kingston on August 23, 1941, and he was a real innovator. He pushed the ‘flying cymbals’ drum sound, worked closely with King Tubby, and ran The Aggrovators as his main studio band. He passed on October 6, 2020, after years of work on labels like Striker Lee, Jackpot and Gorgon. Jamaica gave him the Order of Distinction in 2008.

Together, Andy and Lee cut a run of roots reggae that made Horace one of the most expressive voices Jamaica has produced. This set focuses right on that mid-1970s period, with Lee at the controls and The Aggrovators backing in Kingston. Recording took place at Channel One, Dynamics, Harry J’s, and Joe Gibbs & Randy’s. Mixing was done at King Tubby’s by Tubby himself, Prince Jammy and Phillip Smart.

Now the tracks, because the spotters will want the details. Skylarking is the big one. Andy’s original Studio One version from 1972 was a hit, and it gave its name to his debut set for Coxsone. Studio One dropped a fresh reissue of this album in 2015. Here you get the recut he later did for Lee. You Are My Angel was another hit for Horace, back in 1973, and it’s the original of the song Massive Attack later reworked on Mezzanine. Money, Money and Better Collie both belong to his signature tunes, the ones people still shout for.
My Guiding Star opens the set, and it goes back to The Heptones, who cut it for Coxsone Dodd at Studio One in the late sixties. That riddim was hugely popular, and versions kept coming through the years. We’ve Got To Forward Home is a well known Bob Andy tune, so it’s no stranger in these circles. And the title track A Serious Thing first came out as a seven-inch in the mid-1970s, with A Serious Version by The Aggrovators on the flip. Also on board are fan favourites such as Bless You, Just Say Who and Zion Gate, and the list goes on. You can get it as a 2xLP set, or as a digital download and on streaming.

Andy’s story didn’t stop with Lee, of course. He moved abroad, and in 1977 he released the roots classic In the Light with producer Everton DaSilva. Self-directed projects and work with Tappa Zukie followed. By the early 1980s he was settled in New York City, linking up with Lloyd ‘Bullwackie’ Barnes at Wackies. That brought rub-a-dub and roots albums like the classic set Dance Hall Style in 1982 and Everyday People in 1988.

Then in 1990 came the Massive Attack connection, the Bristol collective. Horace sang lead on all five of their core studio albums, from 1991 to 2010, on tracks like Angel, Spying Glass and Hymn of the Big Wheel. And he kept a solo path going the whole time, with reissues on Blood and Fire, dub projects with Jah Shaka and Mad Professor, and the 2022 album Midnight Rocker, plus its dub twin Midnight Scorchers, both produced by On-U Sound founder Adrian Sherwood.