Kalpana Kalpana (Editor)

The In Crowd (Jamaican band)

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Genres
  
Reggae

Origin
  
Kingston, Jamaica

Record label
  
Island Records

Labels
  
Cactus/Creole, Island

Genre
  
Reggae

The In Crowd (Jamaican band) imgcdnjgjugemjped7247661620131231798094jpg

Years active
  
Early 1970s–1980s, 2014–present

Past members
  
Tony Lewis Freddie Butler Wigmore Francis Robbie Lyn Mikey 'Boo' Richards

Albums
  
His Majesty Is Coming, Man From New Guinea, Natural Rock 'N' Reggae: Greatest Hits, Partly Cloudy, Chance of Rain

Members
  
Fil Callendar, Barry Bailey, Errol Walker, Cleveland Browne, Egbert Evans

Similar
  
Jah Stitch, Trojan, Jonaty Garcia, The Silver Seas, Alvin Tyler

The In Crowd are a popular Jamaican reggae showband who had their commercial peak in the late 1970s, best known for the singles "We Play Reggae" and "Back a Yard". They split up in the 1980s but reformed in 2014 to record a new album.

Contents

History

Led by Filberto "Fil" Callender (vocals and lead guitar), the band also included Errol Walker (lead vocals), Clevie Browne (drums, vocals), Tony Lewis (bass guitar, vocals), Freddie Butler (keyboards), and Wigmore Francis (guitar). The band also featured a horn section of Egbert Evans and Barry Bailey. Browne had previously been a member of The Browne Bunch.

The band were best known for two hit records, "We Play Reggae" and "Back a Yard", but also had reggae hits with "His Majesty Is Coming" and "Born In Ethiopia". They recorded two albums during their lifetime, His Majesty Is Coming and Man From New Guinea, the latter released on Island Records.

After The In Crowd, Browne became half of one of Jamaica's pre-eminent rhythm sections and production teams, Steely & Clevie. Errol Walker now works on the 7th floor of the Financial Services Authority as an events planner and social coordinator in the Diversity team.

The group reformed in 2014 to record a new album.

Fil Callender

Callender was born in Panama and moved with his family to Jamaica in the 1950s. He grew up in the Molynes Road area of Kingston.

After attending rehearsals at the home of pianist Aubrey Adams he met Eric Frater who recruited him as drummer to his band The Virtues. Through Frater he got the job of drummer in the Studio One house band, of which he was a member for three years. While at Studio One he played drums on The Abyssinians' "Satta Massagana", and on hit singles by The Heptones among others, and guitar on The Slickers' "Johnny Too Bad".

After The In Crowd he went on to a solo career. In 1980 he became a committed Christian and since then has played mainly in church bands.

In 2013, Callender was awarded the Order of Distinction by the Jamaican government in recognition of his contribution to Jamaican music.

Albums

  • His Majesty Is Coming (1978) Cactus/Creole (reissued (2005) Trojan)
  • Man From New Guinea (1979) Island
  • Natural Rock 'n' Reggae (198?) Revue (compilation)
  • We Play Reggae: A Tribute (1997) Rhino (compilation)
  • Songs

    Mango WalkBreaking Bad: Music From the Original Series · 2010
    We Play ReggaeMan From New Guinea · 2006
    His Majesty Is ComingMan From New Guinea · 2006

    References

    The In Crowd (Jamaican band) Wikipedia