Biography
Everald Thomas first saw the light of day in Spanish Town, Jamaica, West Indies. What sets Gospel Fish apart from numerous contemporaries is the sensitivity and maturity evident in his lyrics. Thompson Pen served as the setting for his upbringing, during which his Rasta father instructed him in the use of hand drums. After catching him performing with the local church choir, DJ Jimmy Crazy bestowed the name Gospel Fish upon him. The pair joined forces on the 1987 single ‘Neighbourhood Cousin’, a track Gospel produced himself while employed as a security guard. ‘Walk An’ Wine’, ‘Ruff An’ Tuff’ and ‘Cash Ready’ came next, yet more than a year elapsed before his initial hits arrived in the form of ‘Golden Rule’ and ‘Bandy Leg’. His producer Dennis Star arranged his debut shows beyond Jamaica by taking him to the UK in 1988. Prior to that journey he had performed regularly on the Happy Tone, Nite Flight, Lightning and Leo Taurus sound systems, drawing inspiration from DJs including Lieutenant Stitchie, Tony Rebel and Professor Nuts. Voicing sessions for Captain Sinbad, Fashion Records and Gussie P soon followed, each connection expanding his reach to broader listeners. Shifting from ‘slack’ material toward cultural subjects, he delivered numbers such as ‘Wickedest Thing In Life’, ‘You Must Be Fool’ and ‘Too Much Gun Talk’. Between 1991 and 1992 he cut material for Soljie, Top Rank, Bee Cat and Taxi. One result was the combative ‘burial’ track ‘Brush Dem’, his most successful release to date. While visiting the UK in 1993 he contributed a guest vocal to the Aswad / Yazz collaboration ‘Hold On’; he also laid down tracks for both Fashion and Sinbad, occasionally uniting the two imprints, as on the duet with John McLean for Romantic Ragga.