The Skatalites
The Skatalites began emigrating to the US since the 1970s Eventually enough members had arrived that enabled them to book a few shows beginning with shows in 1986 in New York City. It took a few years before they actually started touring the US in 1989 as support act for their old friend Bunny Wailer's Liberation Tour from coast to coast including Radio City Music Hall, Irvine Meadows, The Music Hall in Boston and many other prestigious venues. In early 1990 the band emerged on the market officially on the first headline tour from NYC to California and back. They were always working on new music but the first official record deal in US was with Shanachie and they released "Skavoovee", Grammy nominated "Hi-Bop Ska", and Grammy nominated "Greetings from Skamania". The next release was "Ball of Fire" in 1997 on Island Records. A "Best of The Skatalites" type release was done by Heartbeat Records the same year, entitled "Foundation Ska". In 2000 they recorded an album with all newly composed material by each member entitled "Bashaka". In 2001 they recorded "From Paris With Love". In 2004 The Skatalites were featured on the album "True Love" by Toots and the Maytals, which won the Grammy Award in 2004 for Best Reggae Album, and showcased many notable musicians including Willie Nelson, Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, Trey Anastasio, Gwen Stefani / No Doubt, Ben Harper, Bonnie Raitt, Manu Chao, The Roots, Ryan Adams, Keith Richards, Toots Hibbert, Paul Douglas, Jackie Jackson, and Ken Boothe. Later that year, original member Lloyd Brevett left the band. In April that year, the Skatalites started a new world tour with their new bass player Val Douglas, whose A-Team band was the primary backing band for Reggae Sunsplash Tours through the 1980s and 1990s. In October 2005, The Skatalites released "The Skatalites in Orbit, Vol.1" recorded live in Buenos Aires, recorded during concerts on 23 and 24 September 2005. In March 2006, The Skatalites played at La Bal De La Rose for Caroline, Princess of Hanover, along with Jimmy Cliff, The Wailers and Alpha Blondy. This show started the 2006 Global Orbit Tour reaching Australia, New Zealand, Chile and Argentina. In April 2006, Skatalites recorded 11 new tunes and one cover in Byron Bay, Australia, at the 301 Studios, released the following year as the album "On The Right Track" by AIM International, Australia. In September 2007, The Skatalites contributed the track "Be My Guest", with Ben Harper on vocals, to the Fats Domino tribute CD "" featuring numerous artists. This CD raised funds for all the musicians affected by Hurricane Katrina.