JOHN HOLT CONQUERS THE UNITED KINGDOM!

 John Holt—-

In tribute to singer John Holt who died on October 20 in London, England, the Jamaica Observer presents ‘Holt a Day’, a daily feature leading up to his funeral, which is slated for November 15.

SINCE the 1960s when he was a member of rocksteady group The Paragons, John Holt had a strong fan base in the United Kingdom. At the time of that trio’s dominant run, the UK had a growing Jamaican community, hungry for music from back home.

When he went solo in the early 1970s, Holt recorded profusely for a number of producers including Clement Dodd, Duke Reid, Bunny Lee, Harry Mudie, and Phil Pratt. They all capitalised on the singer’s popularity in the UK.

Several small

UK record labels distributed Holt’s music in that region. Most were compilations of his hit songs for Jamaican producers, though some proved to be his biggest sellers.

A Love I Can Feel, produced by Dodd, was released in 1971 in the UK by the Bamboo label. Between 1973 and 1974, Holt had nine albums in the UK, most of them distributed by Trojan Records, the region’s largest source of Jamaican music.

The biggest sellers in this cache were Time is The Master and 1000 Volts of Holt, produced by Mudie and Englishman Tony Ashfield, respectively.

1000 Volts of Holt remains Holt’s signature set. Released by Trojan, this collection of pop standards is one of the best-selling reggae albums in the UK, and earned the singer an enduring following there.

Interestingly, John Holt did his last shows in England in August.