Revelation

This nine-piece UK-based reggae unit enjoyed a measure of success in the latter half of the 70s. The line-up featured Irving ‘President’ Graham (bass/vocals/percussion), Gary ‘Flatfoot’ Dixon (drums/percussion), Stuart ‘Russian’ Greene (keyboards) and Paul ‘Pablo’ Dixon (percussion) whilst Leonard ‘Da Vinci’ Graham and Elvis ‘Judah’ Preddie shared lead guitar, rhythm guitar and vocals duties. The remaining three members consisted of the female vocal trio, Unique, whose line-up featured Valerie Shakes, Iris ‘Menace’ and Carol Gray. The band members all hailed from east London where in 1977 they began to perform locally. The next year the band relished wider exposure when they supported Fred Locks on his UK tour. The group also released their magnum opus and debut, the piquant ‘With You Boy’, coupled with the equally popular ‘Jah Feelings’. In 1979 the group embarked on recording sessions with Clement Bushay at Burning Sounds which resulted in the favoured, Book Of Revelation. The album demonstrated the group’s versatility notably on the tracks ‘Jook Dem’, ‘Survival’, ‘Release Us’ and ‘You Let Me Down’. The latter echoed the 60s classic ‘Guilty’ by Laurel Aitken when he performed as Tiger. The band were also employed to support Junior English on his UK tour and in December headlined their own show in London’s notorious 100 Club. The club was celebrated for its Punk Festival and the organisers systematically promoted reggae as being a punk affiliate. This alliance resulted in media attention from the white press and Revelation’s subsequent distinction. Inappropriately labelled as the UK’s number one lovers rock band the group began working on sessions for their second album with Bushay. Although the follow-up surfaced, financial constraints resulted in the demise of Burning Sounds and subsequently the availability of the album. In 1981 the group signed to the newly formed Kingdom label and released ‘Tonight’ followed by the more successful ‘That Girl’ and ‘Sunday Morning’ in 1982. (NB: Not to be confused with the 70s US soul group of the same name.)