Q: It was a long gap between the last album for Lloyd Coxsone with the Creation Steppers and the creative comeback, solo, with the Tan-Yah album 'Culturally', that one popped up from nowhere back in '94 or so. A: Yeah. It was an experiment, because being in America, Phillip Smart thought it necessary to sing on some of the regular riddims that people were using. And he interest me on that venture, and 'OK'. So I made some of the songs at home, because he gave me a couple of the riddims, and then we made some in the studio. Yeah. But it was mostly cover-riddims, like the 'Breaking Up' riddim, 'I'm Just A Guy' riddim (both Alton Ellis), most of the long time Studio One, 'Joe Frazier' riddim. So I just said, y'know, it's no harm done. But a lot of people said they don't like me like that, they have me as an original artist. But it was good. Even with Fatis, it's a similar thing. But since then I've done an album in Jamaica, a couple of albums. And the latest one I've done is with a musician called Niko. He's the person who played the 'Stir It Up' riddim for Junior Kelly, who did 'Love So Nice'?

Q: Mmm. A: That riddim 'Love So Nice', this youth Niko, he's a young Rastafarian musician. He has his own studio in Portmore, St. Catherine area. I think all is middle house studio. So I actually did about thirty-one tracks for him. Mostly digital but he's put in live things, because it's working with live and pro-tools. And I just finished thirty-something songs, and we intend to bring out an album called 'Fred Locks - The Rebirth', which I have some love songs on it and different songs, not just reggae, yunno. Q: OK, time to branch out it seems, show the versatility. A: Right, and he's gonna try to shop it when it's completed. Well, I've completed all the vocals and most of the background vocals was completed also. But he's doing some overdubbing track to put some live instruments on most of them, and then he will do the mixing. So that is an album to come. I've done an album for Blacker Dread, most of the Blacker Dread riddims are original riddims. So it's not the regular thing like... I'm not one of those artists who bust out through, like Beres Hammond or Luciano dem and Sizzla dem, who come on other riddims, yunno. Yeah, I like to have - the original thing is more of my thing, y'know what I'm saying? Q: Yep. What about this tune... I remember I picked it up back in '96 when it was a hit somewhat, in London. A: Oh, 'Go With The Flow'? Q: 'Go With The Flow', yeah. A: Yesss!

Fred Locks (photo: urbanimage.tv)

Q: I think that song hit pretty big in the UK. A: Yeah, the reason for that is that Mr Palmer from Jet Star was distributing it. Beca' I done an album while in America for my brethren who I mentioned before - Johnny Goldburne, them call him Bubbles. Well, we did some - I think over some thirty tracks with him, and 'Go With The Flow' was one of the tracks. The son plays the keyboard - Noel Alphonso, Roland Alphonso's son, we and the son was jammin' and that is Johnny, Johnny's son, and he was playing some chords and I started to sing 'go with the flow', making it out of my head. And he called his father and say, "Wha', Fred have a wicked new tune, should a record it". Q: That's how it came about. A: It came about and him called Noel and the youth now and we going to the studio and while I was there, a brethren named Junior Jazz passed through and he's a guitarist and a singer, and we had him playing guitar on it and the owner for the studio, he played clarinet and flute or whatever and he said he wanted to blow the horns on it, and we just did it. Everything was done one day. And I didn't even voice the tune, it was the guy's vocals that I had sung for the band to put the work around it. And they said it sounded good enough and they wanted to release it like that. And one was saying "Nooo, I didn't set him up for the final vocals, let's do it, yunno". I said, "No, they don't want to do it" (chuckles). It did well in Europe for me especially and after touring the Caribbean I found out that it was like a hit down there too. But now I'm going to be workin' on a remake of some of my 'Black Star Liner' songs for an album with the band that I'm playing with now in England. The band is called the Fresh Band, and we're going to pursue a project to remake some of the 'Black Star Liner' songs and some of the songs from the 'Culturally' album too and bring out an album. We have laid some, we have recorded one track so far, but I'm not going to be in England long enough to be able to do all that I want to do. But I'm gonna leave it to them to pursue the project and once I get back to England I'm gonna start doing the vocals, so that is the latest thing I'll be doing. It's lot's of things in the pipeline. A lot of producers have a lot of music from me, I don't know what they're waiting on. But I'm going through, yunno.

Q: There's a few singles from way back when which you may or may not remember, like 'Sugar Plum' for someone called E. Messam on the Ram Jam label, you recall that one? A: My song? Q: Yes, on the Ram Jam label. A: I don't know if them retitle a tune that I did, but I'm not certain about that. I've never done a tune... 'Sugar Plum'...? Q: One titled 'Redemption' on the Mega label for Jackie Mittoo. A: Yeah. Yes, I did those while in America. 'Sugar Plum' could've been done in the same time, I don't know... maybe they just gave it that title. I didn't know what they're gonna do. I recorded some songs for a guy called Junior Thompson, called 'Khadafi'. And I did one called 'In My Bible', 'Nice Up The Dance' - have you heard 'Nice Up The Dance'? Q: No. That's on the Omega label. A: Yeah, is Omega label they're on? Q: Apparently. A: This guy must've sold out to somebody. Originally it was on the Revealers label in America, this guy Khadafi had his label there. Q: You and Brigadier Jerry did a combination on 'Love and Harmony' too. A: Right. Q: Who produced that one? A: That was Boothy. The track was actually the same track we did 'I've Got A Joy' on, and we just changed the intro. Pablove Black do a different intro on it and we did the combination, y'know. Yeah. Q: And 'Watch Your Step' for one R. Hall? A: Yeah, Raymond Hall. Yes, you know these songs, man.

Q: You had one for Delroy Francis called 'A Place Called Africa'. A: And the flipside was 'Love More Than Money'. Yeaahhh, I would like to get them, it was a remake of the Junior Byles. I'd like to get my hand on some of those tunes. Q: 'Beautiful Day' too, for Kensy. A: Yeah, I did that for Kensel, Kensel from America. Yeah. Steely played on that song in his early days, Steely from Steely & Cleavie. Yeah, he was the keyboardist on that song. Q: And there's one titled 'Enemies'. A: Yeesss, Jeff Sarge was the producer alongside my ex-wife. Yeah. Q: So Blacker Dread's 'Give Jah Your Heart and Soul', is that a remake, one of the recent tracks, or his reissue of the old recording? A: 'Give Jah Your Heart and Soul'? That was one of the songs that came on the Creation Steppers. Q: But this one came upon the Blacker Dread imprint though. Still the old one? A: I don't know if Blacka had got the permission from Lloyd. It's not 'Glorify The Lord'? Q: Not sure, or should I say I don't know. A: I just did a song for Blacker Dread called 'Glorify The Lord'. I'm not sure that he released the song before. With me he's got many songs before. But he was with the Lloydie Coxsone crew, so I don't know. But 'Give Jah Your Heart and Soul', that came on the 'Love & Only Love' album. Q: Right. Then you had 'Gun Court Affair' as well. A: It's on the 'Missing Link' album. But Tuff Gong, Bob Marley had released that single for us when this song was just recorded, y'know. That was the only song that was released from that album, from maybe in the late seventies.

Fred Locks (photo: Ryan Moore)

Fred Locks (photo: Ryan Moore)

'The Missing Link' on a whole is hardly up to the standards set of the classic debut album 'Black Star Liner', but it has received some unjustified criticism in some quarters and is a much steadier piece of work than that; it's a grower as they say. On the other hand, that debut LP is - in my humble opinion and regardless of status - a bit overrated and we find a young singer still not quite safe in how to handle the vocal styling he'd found; this came forward on the Creation Steppers effort some years later. In the late nineties we met a much more flexible voice and Locks ability bloomed to the fullness on his CD for Fatis, an album which I see as a modern roots classic by now. A superb production right through and a singer at the peak of his powers; Fred Locks has never sounded better, and although being a critical success the album failed to sell and make the noise outside of the 'cultural circles' it deserved. Also, worth mentioning is fine works on 7" and 10" format and anthologies for labels such as Blacker Dread, M Records, Sip A Cup and Uhuru. Fred Locks is, perhaps surprisingly, among those capable of adapting to modern times, without sounding less-than-convincing, and his Fatis album is very good proof of this. Even so, the name Fred Locks is what we know from the golden era of roots music and the 'Black Star Liner' track is an unquestionable milestone; a historical piece of music we're talking there - you simply won't get around it if bringing up the most important songs in reggae music of the 1970's and it contributed to define that particular era. There is ongoing talk of making the album available again in an improved and extended form, hopefully in a not too distant future. Also, look for an upcoming anthology pre-titled 'Rare Classics' containing many long unavailable recordings from this highly talented singer/songwriter. Special mention must go to the man Carl Gayle 7" single information courtesy Roots Knotty Roots.

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Article: Peter I (Please do not reproduce without permission)