Pato Banton

Pato Banton, born Patrick Murray in Birmingham, England, first appeared on record by assisting Ranking Roger on the English Beat’s 1982 album Special Beat Service, specifically on the track “Pato and Roger a Go Talk.” His own debut solo album, Never Give In, arrived five years later, backed by Birmingham’s Studio Two house band and featuring a guest spot from Paul Shaffer, with Banton’s comic vocal characterizations supplying much of its energy. An EP of alternate versions of the duet “Pato and Roger Come Again,” again with Ranking Roger, surfaced in 1988. The next year brought the full-length Visions of the World, which reflected a move toward a poppier soul/reggae style. Wize Up! (No Compromize), released in 1990, contained his first American college-radio success, a cover of the Police’s “Spirits in the Material World,” plus a title-track duet with Steel Pulse’s David Hinds. A dub project with the Mad Professor, Mad Professor Recaptures Pato Banton, and the live set Live and Kickin’ All Over America followed before Universal Love appeared in 1992. New original material took longer to surface; in 1994 a version of Eddy Grant’s “Baby Come Back,” recorded with Robin and Ali Campbell of UB40, reached the British charts and prompted the compilation Collections. Banton finally issued a complete album of fresh songs, Stay Positive, in 1996, and Life Is a Miracle followed in spring 2000.