At most reggae-related events and shows, one is more than likely to run into Brigett Anderson.
This regal Rastafari woman, with an endearing smile, has been a fixture on the music circuit for over 30 years. Her involvement spans artiste management, publicity, event décor, and just being a fan of the music.
Anderson entered the music business as road manager for singer Judy Mowatt in the early 1990s, shortly after joining the Twelve Tribes of Israel. It was while working with Mowatt that she first met late reggae chanter Garnett Silk at a show in Portland. He, under her First Management, would go on to be one of her more successful charges.
At the time, the Manchester-born singer had a minor hit with a cover of Ray Charles’ Seven Spanish Angels and was still making the sound system rounds.
“I had seen Garnett perform in Port Antonio earlier and then at this dance in St Thomas, and he had a presence that you couldn’t help but feel. So when [Anthony] Rochester said to me: ‘Is somebody like you we want to manage the artiste!’, I was already sold. He had already made his name in the dances, having done a lot of work for Conquering Lion, so now he wanted to take his career to the world of stage shows and tours overseas… That was my mission,” Anderson told the Jamaica Observer in a previous interview.
She recalled that among the first matters she dealt with for Garnett Silk was having a backing band of his own; a band that would know his music inside out, could go on tours, and help him transition from the sound system artiste to a bona fide reggae act. That happened one night as he got ready to perform at the Acropolis nightclub at an event organized by the late disc jock Mighty Mike.
“We were all waiting backstage and Garnett was being introduced. Without a rehearsal, the band struck up the opening chords of his music in a medley they had created. Garnet instantly fell in love with the sound. He was so excited by what he heard that he literally jumped from backstage onto the stage and gave a blistering performance. That night, Jahpostles became Garnet Silk’s backing band,” she said.
Anderson and Garnett Silk parted ways before he died in a fire in 1994, but has remained close to his wife and children.
Since then, her Firstborn Management has handled the careers of singers Jahmali, Jahmel, Natty Remo, Samory I, Dez-I, among others, while her décor company Nature’s Eye continues to bring beauty to a number of corporate and entertainment events.
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