Tenor Fly

Born Jonathan Sutter in Brixton, London, England, Tenor Fly launched his professional path performing on Lloyd Coxsone’s International Sound System in the company of Jah Screechy and Blacker Dread. His first single, the 1989 release “Roughneck Fashion,” reached the summit of the UK reggae chart, with the equally popular “Inner Cities” arriving soon afterward. That momentum opened doors to further partnerships, including work with the Ragga Twins under the Demon Rocker alias, esteemed selector Top Cat, and established singer Nerious Joseph. Additional mainstream traction arrived through three successive Top 40 singles recorded with Rebel MC—“Tribal Bass,” “Wickedest Sound,” and “Coming On Strong.” In 1994 a humorous reworking of the Monty Python Life Of Brian chant titled “Bright Side Of Life,” built on a sample of Nina Simone’s “My Baby Just Cares For Me,” earned him a UK Top 50 placing. Subsequent releases included the Big Orange collaboration “Let’s Play,” which again paired him with Nerious Joseph. During a 1996 visit to Japan he joined Top Cat and Sweetie Irie onstage at the annual Japan Splash Festival; on returning home he contributed the track “Before The Night Is Over” to Louchie Lou And Michie One’s album Danger Us. The following year he began laying down material for a long-planned debut project slated to appear on Nine Lives, the label run by his supporter Top Cat.