Tito Simon

b. Keith Foster, c.1948, St. Mary, Jamaica, West Indies. Tito Simon left Jamaica in 1961 to start a new life in the UK. His early involvement in the music industry came in the mid-60s with Dandy Livingstone, recording together as Sugar And Dandy. Their hits included ‘Let’s Ska’ and ‘Heaven Knows’. The duo decided to pursue solo careers and Simon quickly became disillusioned with the recording industry. A two-year sabbatical followed, but in 1967 he was enticed back into the industry, supporting top soul performers on their European tours. He also recorded the self-produced ‘Suddenly’ as Sugar Simone, a soul tune that was an ineffectual attempt at a crossover hit. The b-side of the release, ‘King Without A Throne’, proved to be the more popular tune within the West Indian community and resulted in a significant hit. In 1972 Simon returned to Jamaica, where he began an association with Clancy Eccles, recording the popular ‘Easy Come Easy Go’, followed by a string of hits including ‘You Can’t Be Serious’, ‘I’ll Be True To You’ and ‘She Aint Nothing But The Real Thing’.

In 1973 Simon was featured in a Trojan Records catalogue that was produced to coincide with the West Indian cricket team’s summer tour of the UK. In it, he was reported to be optimistic about the forthcoming release of Build It Up, which was also the title of his latest single release; the album surfaced as Just Tito Simon in 1974. A year later he almost crossed over into the UK pop chart with ‘This Monday Morning Feeling’, which made a brief appearance on the radio playlists. Trojan added three tracks to his album and re-released the compilation as This Monday Morning Feeling. On parting company with Trojan, he joined the Jama group alongside Pat Rhoden and B.B. Seaton, where he recorded ‘Running Back For More’. By 1978 his singles ‘Please Talk To Me’ and ‘Things Will Be Better’ were worthy hits for Pearl Productions, although the partnership was short-lived. In 1983, recording with the Sus Band, his rendition of ‘Can’t Stop Loving You’ was an indication of his enduring talent. Simon has recorded under a number of aliases, including Lance Hannibal, Jackie Foster, Les Foster and Calva L. Foster, in addition to those already mentioned.