Biography
Wisdom originated in London, England, where Benjahmin Benjahman, born Patrick Polidore on 10 March 1963 in St. Lucia, West Indies, assembled the group as a five-piece with an ever-changing roster. The ensemble coalesced during the early 1980s and began by backing performers including Clint Eastwood And General Saint, Jah Thomas, Smiley Culture and Dennis Brown, while also appearing annually at London’s Notting Hill carnival. By 1982 the configuration had stabilized as a trio comprising the founder alongside Marcus Million, born Wayne Dowden on 18 August 1963 in Grenada, West Indies, on vocals, and Sista Maureen, born Maureen Dowe on 12 July 1963 in London, England, also on vocals. Shortly after achieving that settled lineup, the musicians became one of the first reggae outfits to play East Berlin prior to the Berlin Wall’s collapse. In 1986 they received an invitation to join Musical Youth on a Ghanaian tour. Five years afterward the band issued its debut album, Sign Of The Times, which led to further opportunities such as supporting Bunny Wailer’s first UK concert at the Brixton Academy. Throughout the early 1990s Wisdom maintained a steady European schedule that featured a standout performance at the Volkhause in Switzerland, and they conducted an extensive Ghana tour that stood apart from the single-date capital shows typically offered by peers in Accra; they likewise backed Shabba Ranks during his visit to the country. After more than two decades as a unit, the group sustained its prominence into the new millennium via the album Who Feels It, whose refined production helped tracks such as ‘Black Woman’, ‘Passing Through’ and the title song secure the band’s lasting position within reggae.
Albums