ArtistInfo

Harlem Spirit

Band,
Reggae

Harlem Spirit were a reggae/fusion/lovers rock band based in the Hulme/Moss side/Trafford area. They recorded around half a dozen singles for both large and indie labels, first of which was the self penned Dem a sus(In the Moss) which made reference to the current stop and search laws which prevailed at the time. This is now a highly collectable and desirable single and changes hands for a significant amount of money. They played loads of Universtities and self promoted venues including The Aquarious Club (Bolton), PSV and West Indian Centre (Moss Side), Limelight club (Oldham), Umist, Sheffield, Leeds, Bradford and Huddersfield universities and opened for many name bands inc Junior Walkers All stars (who apparently offered Mike the drummer's job even though Walkers son was drumming at the time), Department S (Is vic there), Hank Wangford, Aswad, Wilko Johnson's Solid Senders and Culture Club. Most name bands they opened for had to work extra hard when following there blistering set which usually ended with a few encores and even left audiences exhausted. Peter, the guitarist, helped define Harlem Spirit's unique reggae sound with his Yamaha R50 leslie combo. Michael ,the drummer who could happily be described as a child prodigy (he was around 16 or 17 when I worked with them has since had his own recording band,The Dust Junkies, as well as playing many major recording sessions and a long stint as a member of Glaswegion band Texas.

Members

Pete Strong