Biography
China Black serves as the joint designation for Simon Fung, born in Hong Kong, China, and Errol Reid, born in Montego Bay, Jamaica, West Indies. Reid arrived in the UK alongside his parents and established residence in Birmingham. From childhood he pursued singing under the sway of soul performers such as Luther Vandross, Freddie Jackson and Teddy Pendergrass. Numerous victories in talent contests followed, preparing him for extended work on the sound system circuit. Several solo recordings secured local radio exposure and prompted his relocation to London to resume his career. At the same time Fung, already based in London, had advanced into production, collaborating with the Fredericks, Cornell McKoy and jazz guitarist Ronny Jordan. Jordan arranged an introduction between Fung and Reid in 1990, resulting in the creation of China Black. The pair initially tracked material in a soul idiom, among which stood their notable track ‘Searching’. Issued in 1992 as a lovers rock single on the Big One label—its first appearance on the reggae charts in eight years, co-produced by Longsy D—the song reached the top of the reggae chart and sustained visibility for three months. In 1994 Wildcard acquired the ballad, and a remix by Mykaell S. Riley, formerly of Steel Pulse, Headline and the Reggae Philharmonic Orchestra, propelled it into the UK Top 10. Subsequent releases ‘Stars’ and, in 1995, ‘Almost See You (Somewhere)’ failed to match that breakthrough despite a Steely And Clevie remix applied to the latter. Their fourth single, ‘Don’t Throw It All Away’, achieved club prominence through versions by Rokstone and the Beatmasters. The duo sustained visibility through live appearances, among them a performance at the Anti Racist Alliance Festival before more than 50,000 spectators. In 1997 they issued a rendition of the spiritual ‘Swing Low Sweet Chariot’ to mark the Five Nations rugby tournament, joined by the England rugby squad.
Singles