Biography
Born Lloyd Seivright on 3 June 1948 in Browns Town, St. Ann’s, Jamaica, West Indies, Floyd developed his musical foundation as a teenager at Alpha Boys School, the Catholic-run institution for young musicians in Kingston. During those years Jamaican airwaves favored American standards, New Orleans jazz, and the chart successes of the 1950s and early 1960s. The training prompted him to compose original material, and at fifteen he made his first appearance on Jamaican television. In 1969 he scored the hit “Be Yourself,” an achievement that prompted his move to England to advance his career; the same recording brought an audition invitation from the Beatles’ Apple Records label, yet the group’s breakup left the opportunity unfulfilled.
Early in the 1970s Floyd recognized the importance of controlling publishing rights and established Tropic Entertainment & Recording Enterprises. One early signing, Justin Hinds, later benefited when the compositions “Over The River” and “Here I Stand” became chart successes for Bitty McClean two decades afterward. EMI Records and Warner Brothers Records, impressed by his methodical handling of publishing, retained him to settle authorship and copyright conflicts that frequently arose in reggae because Jamaican artists often lacked legal representation. While engaged in these administrative roles he also collaborated with Derrick Morgan, Tommy McCook, Laurel Aitken, and Rico Rodriguez.
During the same decade Floyd assembled the Red Cloud band in London, whose performances blended rock and reggae into a distinctive hybrid. Around that period the Mighty Diamonds cut the enduring favorite “Sweet Lady,” an adaptation of Floyd’s earlier “Be Yourself” that continues to surface on revival playlists. In 1977 he issued the solo singles “Soulful Lover Baby” and “Slow Down” on Trojan Records. After Red Cloud disbanded he joined the EMI/KPM Music Library, whose staff valued his singular approach; for the library he created reggae tracks later licensed to productions including EastEnders, Friends, and Twentieth Century Fox’s Strange Days. He also spent several years performing with the ska-revival outfit the Potato 5, during which he originated the phrase “Mash It Up.”
Subsequently Floyd moved to the Netherlands and, in 1995, settled in New York, where he and business partner Brenda Ray began issuing much of his catalog; the releases generated numerous synchronization licenses for film and television. Tracks from Mango Blues—“Compatible Friends” and “Rock Steady Party”—appeared respectively in the HBO series Real Sex and Paramount’s Dead Men On Campus. Floyd has long been regarded as ska’s keeper of the faith, a standing reinforced when he established ties with the New Orleans Jazz Stars and thereby sustained the longstanding jazz-ska lineage.
Early in the 1970s Floyd recognized the importance of controlling publishing rights and established Tropic Entertainment & Recording Enterprises. One early signing, Justin Hinds, later benefited when the compositions “Over The River” and “Here I Stand” became chart successes for Bitty McClean two decades afterward. EMI Records and Warner Brothers Records, impressed by his methodical handling of publishing, retained him to settle authorship and copyright conflicts that frequently arose in reggae because Jamaican artists often lacked legal representation. While engaged in these administrative roles he also collaborated with Derrick Morgan, Tommy McCook, Laurel Aitken, and Rico Rodriguez.
During the same decade Floyd assembled the Red Cloud band in London, whose performances blended rock and reggae into a distinctive hybrid. Around that period the Mighty Diamonds cut the enduring favorite “Sweet Lady,” an adaptation of Floyd’s earlier “Be Yourself” that continues to surface on revival playlists. In 1977 he issued the solo singles “Soulful Lover Baby” and “Slow Down” on Trojan Records. After Red Cloud disbanded he joined the EMI/KPM Music Library, whose staff valued his singular approach; for the library he created reggae tracks later licensed to productions including EastEnders, Friends, and Twentieth Century Fox’s Strange Days. He also spent several years performing with the ska-revival outfit the Potato 5, during which he originated the phrase “Mash It Up.”
Subsequently Floyd moved to the Netherlands and, in 1995, settled in New York, where he and business partner Brenda Ray began issuing much of his catalog; the releases generated numerous synchronization licenses for film and television. Tracks from Mango Blues—“Compatible Friends” and “Rock Steady Party”—appeared respectively in the HBO series Real Sex and Paramount’s Dead Men On Campus. Floyd has long been regarded as ska’s keeper of the faith, a standing reinforced when he established ties with the New Orleans Jazz Stars and thereby sustained the longstanding jazz-ska lineage.
Albums
