BITTY MCLEAN ist so etwas wie eine lebende Legende. Der britische Reggae-Künstler macht bereits seit Anfang der 1990er-Jahre im hiesigen Musikzirkus auf sich aufmerksam. Seine größten Erfolge feierte er in den ersten Jahren mit Top-Ten-Hits wie „It Keeps Rainin’ (Tears from My Eyes)“ (1993) und „Here I Stand“ (1995). Er ging auf Stadiontour mit UB40, WET WET WET und SIMPLY RED. Kurzum: BITTY MCLEAN war hart am Start!
Dann wurde es ruhiger um den 1972 geborenen Musiker, doch seit 2001 veröffentlicht er regelmäßig äußerst hörenswerte Alben – beispielsweise „Soul to Soul“ (2003) und „Movin’ On“ (2009) mit dem bekannten jamaikanischen Produzentenduo SLY & ROBBIE. Weitere Kollaborationen entstanden mit THE LEE THOMPSON SKA ORCHESTRA, ANSEL COLLINS, U-ROY, JOSIE WALES und ALI CAMPBELL.
Am 3. JUNI steht BITTY MCLEAN nun auf der Bühne des KNUST am berühmt-berüchtigten Lattenplatz auf St. Pauli in Hamburg. Ihr habt also die einzigartige Gelegenheit, live in den Genuss dieser legendären Honigstimme zu kommen. Die After-Show-Party schmeißen DJ SMART vom MASSAYA SOUNDSYSTEM und DJ STUMBLE. Los geht’s um 21:30 Uhr. Kommt vorbei!
BITTY MCLEAN
A much loved talent with an astonishing voice and unnerving ability to pen a pop smash, McLean launched himself into the high end of the British charts with a string of top ten hits in the early 90s.
Born in 1972, Bitty’s earliest memories were punctuated with the music he would hear courtesy of his father’s sound system, where he started by singing over Jamaican Dub and Instrumental riddims. In 1992, McLean had not only co-produced but played and sang on UB40’s hugely successful album „Promises And Lies“ which sold 8 million copies. Signed to Brilliant Records by 1993 Bitty’s own recordings including It Keeps Rainin’, Dedicated To The One I Love & Here I Stand notched up 3 UK top ten singles by 1994 selling over 1 million records. The subsequent years saw Bitty accrue a fearsome catalogue of top 30 singles, as well as playing UK arena tours with UB40, Wet Wet Wet and Simply Red.
In 2004, he released the superb „On Bond Street“, in which Duke Reid’s Treasure Isle instrumentals played by the legendary Tommy McCook and The Supersonics formed the basis of the album. Bitty complemented these 35 year old tracks with such elegance it was hard to believe he was not there when the tracks were originally recorded. Bitty McLean followed up with a major collaboration with the worlds‘ greatest rhythm section, Sly Dunbar and Robbie Shakespeare. The trio recorded „MOVIN‘ ON“, a brand new studio album in Kingston Jamaica. Featuring the hits „Real Thing“, „Lately“ and „Let Them Talk“, the album came out in 2009 to widespread critical acclaim, as the New York Times hailed „Movin‘ On“ as the best Reggae album of that year. Following tours of Europe and Japan with Sly & Robbie and the Taxi Gang Bitty went back to the studio and recorded a follow up to „Movin‘ On“ entitled The Taxi Sessions. The Taxi Sessions a blend of Sly and Robbies classic hard rockers and rub a dub riddims recorded during the 80‘s with a first rate line up of jamaican musicians has been received to critical acclaim.
Collaborations with The Lee Thompson Ska Orchestra, Ansel Collins, U-Roy, Josie Wales, Ali Campbell have added to the catalogue of hit records.
The Heart Mind and Soul EP released in 2015 continues the musical journey of Sly and Robbie’s distinctive drum and bass sound with Bitty’s trademark voice, reaffirming and solidifying Bitty McLean as one of reggae’s premier vocalists