Anthony “Pure Silk” Brightly (co-founder) was born in London in 1960, and he did not wait long to become involved in music. Picking up the recorder at the age of six, Brightly began piano lessons the next year. Brightly was encouraged by his musical family; his parents and their friends enjoyed music, and often had their children play music at their various gatherings. His first band, “Mystron 5,” was formed when Brightly was eight; the band broke up in 1971 when he started secondary school. “In 1972,” Brightly recalls, “a friend run up to me, saying a club just up the road, Phoebe’s, was having a band competition and they were missing a keyboard player. That’s all the encouragement I needed! Remember, I was just 12 years old!” The band, Young Ones From Zion, meshed – with Chris Hanson, Desmond, Patrick King, Brightly, and Sandra Reed (vocals) – and later changed the group’s name to Black Slate. They started backing major Jamaican singers, Owen Gray, Errol Dunkley, Dennis Brown, and others, as well as Jamaican singers living in the U.K. The band returned to Phoebe’s to compete – and win. “We were like a mini-juke box: we were able to play every Reggae song we heard.” Black Slate worked - and rehearsed – hard, and soon became the Number 1 backing band, now on stage with Reggae greats Delroy Wilson, Prince Jazzbo, and others. Brightly was also involved in his father’s sound system; Sir George Sound was and continues to be a premier sound system in the U.K. Brightly made dubplates, learned to play all instruments (including horns) and, in 1975, he began recording, including the single, “Mix Up Man,” for Keith Drummond at his father’s recording studio. Remembering that Bob Marley’s Catch A Fire brought the first injection of roots rock Reggae music to the U.K., Brightly said that, “Black Slate decided to step out, to played wherever we could, whenever we could. We played for money and we played for nothing. We played our hearts out. We worked hard to get people’s attention. And we learned the art of being performers. We recorded ‘Sticksman,’ ‘Amigo,’ and ‘Freedom Time.’ It took us three years... After ‘Amigo’ was released, people would come to us and say, ‘Give us something like ‘Amigo’ and we’d tell them that was three years ago, we’ve moved on.” Brightly notes that the reunited Black Slate is unique in that they have kept their hands in the music industry, they still love playing music, and they can afford to return to the stage and to the recording studio. Looking forward, Brightly nods that it is “a pleasure to perform again; we enjoy playing for live audiences – and it’s great to see that the audiences remember the words to our songs! Yes, Black Slate members are older and more mature, but we still have the vitality and energy to give a dynamic performance. Plus, with our maturity, we realize the importance of delivering the message, of the importance of sharing, remind people to share – it’s okay to share your joy, your art, your time, your knowledge. We are fortunate that music allows us to travel and to talk with people around the world about helping others who are less fortunate. We need to help each other, to feed ourselves, to survive. I am personally invested in establishing a foundation, PROMPT, to these ends: Purpose, Respect, Obedience, Manners, Punctuality, Training. Be prompt; that says it all.”
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Black Slate's Anthony Brightly / Blog
Anthony “Pure Silk” Brightly (co-founder)
Anthony “Pure Silk” Brightly (co-founder) was born in London in 1960, and he did not wait long to become involved in music. Picking up the recorder at the age of six, Brightly began piano lessons the next year. Brightly was encouraged by his musical family; his parents and their friends enjoyed music, and often had their children play music at their various gatherings. His first band, “Mystron 5,” was formed when Brightly was eight; the band broke up in 1971 when he started secondary school. “In 1972,” Brightly recalls, “a friend run up to me, saying a club just up the road, Phoebe’s, was having a band competition and they were missing a keyboard player. That’s all the encouragement I needed! Remember, I was just 12 years old!” The band, Young Ones From Zion, meshed – with Chris Hanson, Desmond, Patrick King, Brightly, and Sandra Reed (vocals) – and later changed the group’s name to Black Slate. They started backing major Jamaican singers, Owen Gray, Errol Dunkley, Dennis Brown, and others, as well as Jamaican singers living in the U.K. The band returned to Phoebe’s to compete – and win. “We were like a mini-juke box: we were able to play every Reggae song we heard.” Black Slate worked - and rehearsed – hard, and soon became the Number 1 backing band, now on stage with Reggae greats Delroy Wilson, Prince Jazzbo, and others. Brightly was also involved in his father’s sound system; Sir George Sound was and continues to be a premier sound system in the U.K. Brightly made dubplates, learned to play all instruments (including horns) and, in 1975, he began recording, including the single, “Mix Up Man,” for Keith Drummond at his father’s recording studio. Remembering that Bob Marley’s Catch A Fire brought the first injection of roots rock Reggae music to the U.K., Brightly said that, “Black Slate decided to step out, to played wherever we could, whenever we could. We played for money and we played for nothing. We played our hearts out. We worked hard to get people’s attention. And we learned the art of being performers. We recorded ‘Sticksman,’ ‘Amigo,’ and ‘Freedom Time.’ It took us three years... After ‘Amigo’ was released, people would come to us and say, ‘Give us something like ‘Amigo’ and we’d tell them that was three years ago, we’ve moved on.” Brightly notes that the reunited Black Slate is unique in that they have kept their hands in the music industry, they still love playing music, and they can afford to return to the stage and to the recording studio. Looking forward, Brightly nods that it is “a pleasure to perform again; we enjoy playing for live audiences – and it’s great to see that the audiences remember the words to our songs! Yes, Black Slate members are older and more mature, but we still have the vitality and energy to give a dynamic performance. Plus, with our maturity, we realize the importance of delivering the message, of the importance of sharing, remind people to share – it’s okay to share your joy, your art, your time, your knowledge. We are fortunate that music allows us to travel and to talk with people around the world about helping others who are less fortunate. We need to help each other, to feed ourselves, to survive. I am personally invested in establishing a foundation, PROMPT, to these ends: Purpose, Respect, Obedience, Manners, Punctuality, Training. Be prompt; that says it all.”
Reply