My friend Junior English, who has died aged 71, was often described as the king of lovers’ rock – the smooth, romantic reggae genre that came to life in Britain during the mid-1970s.
Jamaican born but London based from the mid-1960s, Junior – whose real name was Lindel – was a sweet-voiced singer who had a long run of British reggae hits as a solo artist, including the dancehall favourites In Loving You, Equal Love and Ready to Learn. He also released about a dozen studio albums and was a popular live performer.
Junior was born in Kingston, Jamaica, the youngest of three children, and began his singing exploits as a child prodigy on the island, featuring on blue beat tracks such as Fay Is Gone and My Queen (both with Errol Dunkley) for Prince Buster.
He moved to the UK as a 13-year-old with his parents in 1964, settling first in Preston, Lancashire, before relocating to Harlesden, in north-west London, where he attended John Kelly boys’ school (now Crest boys’ academy) in Neasden. We lived near each other as children, and became close friends for life. People often thought we were brothers.
Junior’s big break came when he won a talent contest organised by the Palmer brothers, who owned the reggae label Pama Records. That led him to join a group called the Magnets and then the Nighthawks, with whom he featured on the 1969 album Man It’s Reggae, after which he went solo.
There was a setback when Junior was jailed for six months for a driving offence, but he used the time wisely by writing many of the compositions that appeared on his debut album, The Dynamic Junior English (1974). By 1978 he had become one of the biggest names in lovers’ rock, issuing four albums during the year and spending seven weeks at No 1 on the UK reggae singles chart with In Loving You.
Setting up his own label, International English, he continued throughout the early 80s as a prolific issuer of material, later experimenting with soul and gospel tunes. His output began to slow down thereafter, however, partly because of a diagnosis of multiple sclerosis, which led to periods of poor health and sometimes restricted his ability to perform on stage.
Nonetheless, Junior was able to keep going with various releases until his death, chalking up more than 60 singles in his career. His last big live performance was at the Giants of Lovers’ Rock show in 2012, where he received a rapturous reception.
Outside music, Junior was a committed sports fan who loved to watch boxing and to play cricket. In his younger days he played regularly for Roundwood cricket club in Harlesden – he remained in the area for the rest of his life – but would turn out for any team prepared to slot him into their side, even at the last minute.
He is survived by five children, six grandchildren and his two siblings.
