Brian Gold goes conscious

Howard Campbell, Sunday Gleaner Writer

Despite a heavy afternoon downpour, singer Brian Gold walked calmly through the pelting rain in search of shelter on the office porch of Twelve Tribes of Israel headquarters at Hope Road, St Andrew.

Gold's appearance is distinctly different these days. He has a fully grown beard and almost waist-long locks which are part of the 'majestic changes' he has gone through in the last five years.

He was very much the dandy while a member of Brian and Tony Gold, the harmony duo which had hit songs like Can You and Irresistible. They toured the world for more than a decade as backup singers for Shaggy.

Gold's latest effort is Oh My Love, a cover of the Righteous Brothers' classic Unchained Melody. It was done with deejay Saba Tooth for the latter's Brimstone and Fire label. Gold said while he jumped at the chance to do the song, he is more inclined to record cultural material to reflect his Rastafarian faith.

"Wi put wi life in perspective an' realise that wi haffi do the work fi the king. If wi going to sing about the love it have to be that perfect love," he said philosophically.

Gold added: "Jus' the name of the group gi mi the challenge to do this song, yuh nuh, cause mi a try live righteous."

The 44-year-old vocalist recently recorded a medley of roots songs with nyahbingi group, the Trench Town Warriors, including versions of 400 Years by the Wailers and Marley's Time Will Tell.

Still singing lovers' rock

He has not turned his back entirely on lovers' rock. In addition to Oh My Love, he recorded a cover of soul singer Betty Wright's Thank You for producer and longtime friend Mikey Bennett.

Even the tone of his ballads have changed, Gold pointed out.

"Wi used to tell the girl dem about love, but now it's about love on a more personal and spiritual level," he reasoned.

Born Brian Thompson in Birmingham, England, Gold says Rasta has always been part of his life. His parents were into the Black Power movement and all his siblings are Rastafarians.

Gold's last chart hit, Irresistible, was done with Tony Gold five years ago for Shaggy's Big Yard label. Shortly after, he went through a spiritual conversion and the duo split.

The two had been a team since 1986 when Brian won the Tastee Talent Contest with Tony placing second. They hooked up following the show and began recording mainly for Bennett, a member of vocal group Home T who was fast establishing himself as a producer.

They had a golden run with Bennett and producer Gussie Clarke during the 1990s, a period of great success for dancehall. Their biggest success locally came in 1990 with the Bennett-produced Can You, a poignant take on the Apartheid system in South Africa.

Four years later, they entered the British pop chart with deejay Red Dragon on the Sly and Robbie-produced Compliments On Your Kiss.

The Golds were also in-demand backing vocalists. They can be heard on hit songs by Dennis Brown (If You Want Me), Home T (Don't Throw It All Away) and Shabba Ranks and Maxi Priest (Housecall).

While touring Japan in the late 1990s, they met Shaggy who brought them in for his Midnite Lover album. That set flopped but the follow-up, 2001's Hot Shot, was a multi-platinum monster.

Hot Shot was driven by the number one smash, It Wasn't Me, co-written by Brian Gold. The Golds toured the globe with Shaggy as Hot Shot's sales soared. They were part of his Big Yard camp which produced songs like Shaggy's Church Heathen and the catchy Irresistible, mainly for the Jamaican market.

The songs Brian Gold is currently working on are not as commercial though he plans to do some rhythm and blues-styled ballads, roots collaborations with the Trench Town Warriors and Twelve Tribes of Israel are priority.

It is important, he stressed, for his spirituality to shine through.

"Is different work now, yuh nuh. Is time fi lead home a nation."