Summertime Reggae Rule - Summer is Finally Here
Sound-tracking sunshine, check out this red hot single
‘Summertime Reggae Rule’ courtesy of two cult names from the 80s and beyond,
Fuzzbox and Robin George!
Vix was the charismatic front woman and singer of 80s
girl band, Fuzzbox. Their debut album spawned the band’s first top 40 hit, Love
is the Slug’ before a move to WEA saw 1989’s ‘Big Band’ album yielded Top 30 UK
singles, ‘International Rescue’ and ‘Pink Sunshine’, the latter also charting in
the US and featured for many years as the Radio One Roadshow theme tune.
Robin George (April1956 – April 2024) was a
world-renowned guitar player and singer songwriter has worked with some of the
biggest names in rock, including Robert Plant, Phil Lynott and Glenn Hughes and
his album ‘Dangerous Music’ and his track, Heartline are cult classics.
Vix’s solo album, ‘You’ was co-written and produced by
Robin who relates, ‘Vix and her voice are superb, completely irresistible! I
couldn’t think of a better choice of singer to add the va-va-voom to Summertime
Reggae Rule! When Vix loved the track, I just thought, ‘Bring it on!’
Vix says,"Robin & I really hit it off as musicians,
sharing a love of guitar-based music as well as Americana, and I loved
his versions of 2 songs I wrote for Fuzzbox, "You" and "Your Loss". Versions of
these later were released along with many other tracks that we wrote
together, and some covers I did of Robin's songs. I felt that he gave me the
respect as a singer and songwriter that I hadn't had before and we continued to
collaborate and release music for decades, right up until he passed. He asked if
I would like to perform on this fantastic track, Summertime Reggae Rule, as his
final project. I loved the idea, so here we are with a lovely summery song for
everyone to vibe to - and don't forget to lift a glass or two Robin!"
Mixed and mastered by award winning Klaus Bohlmann with
drums by the superb Charlie Morgan, (Elton John Band, Kate Bush, Tina Turner)
‘Summertime Reggae Rule’ gets revved up for the season!
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Summertime Reggae Rule Single You Tube Video |
Summertime
Reggae Rule Swing Mix |
"On Friday 26th April 2024 at 11.45 our beautiful Robin left this world and flew away to the next life where we hope he’s partying with the family, friends and musicians he loved and lost over the years. Robin had been fighting a long illness but by Christmas, it became obvious that he was not long for this world.
"He was devastated when he was no longer able to play his beloved guitars but he continued to write songs, do interviews, make videos and tell his story here on Facebook and through his biography. He desperately wanted his music to live on because music was in his heart and soul. Robin leaves behind his adored wife, four beloved children, two beautiful sisters, nine lovely grandchildren, many dear friends and the animal family that he rescued over the years.
"We are devastated because there will never be another Robin George. LovePower with you always. You're with your angels now."
At the time of his passing Robin was finishing off his biography, and one of the last things he was working on was a section for his friends and fans's memories and pictures to be included, this is now more poignant, please send anything you would like included to press@robingeorge.co.uk
Click to read the posting on Classic Rock - Louder Music
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FROM MY HEART TO YOURS, MY FRIENDS. It's been a busy year,
thankfully, 2 cd's released, Ace in my Hand Double cd & Overcome With Glenn
Hughes..
Click link to open
Overcome by Robin George and Glenn Hughes Release Date 24th November 2023 on Cherry Red Records
Glenn Hughes & Robin George –
Overcome
Overcome is
well-named.
Originally to be titled
Sweet Revenge,
this never officially released gem from Glenn Hughes and Robin George has a
three decades old back-story that’s as interesting as the album is excellent.
In the late 80s Glenn Hughes added some backing
vocals to the Notorious album Radio Silence,
featuring Robin George and ex Diamond Head singer Sean Harris (Radio
Silence sadly suffered at the out-of-touch
hands of record moguls until seeing a deserved release much later in life).
Impressed with what Robin George was coming up with,
Hughes asked his fellow West Midlands musician what else he might have –
suddenly George’s next solo album was looking like it would feature The Voice Of
Rock.
However what should have been a dream come true for
Robin George became an unofficially released nightmare.
Initial recordings at Robin George’s Kitchen Sink
Studios in 1989 went exceptionally well, but when it came time to lay it all
down at Ridge Farm studios the next year, for major label release, the results
weren’t so good.
Factor in the deal between the UK & US companies
concerned ending acrimoniously, and you have the plug officially pulled on an
album that promised so much but never delivered – nor did it deliver in 2008
when the album was bootlegged and released in not second rate but third rate,
unmixed, low quality MP3 fashion.
Fifteen years on from that bootlegged embarrassment
however, Robin George has given the original Kitchen Sink Studios recordings the
restoration care and mixing attention they deserve (bolstered by a great
remastering job from Klaus Bohlmann).
From the melodically framed rock charm of opener
‘Flying’ (one of a number of songs Robin George would revisit for later solo
albums) to edgier and angular album closer ‘War Dance’ (which would have sat
comfortably on George’s Dangerous Music
of the 80s), this is an album that has indeed Overcome the odds.
It’s also an album that covers all the bases, or
more accurately basses, as well and guitars, keys and drum machine parts,
courtesy of Robin George (who also produced the album).
Aside from the
Dangerous Music styled numbers – the
aforementioned ‘War Dance,’ the T-Rex meets hard pop-rock of ‘I Want’ (featuring
Daniel Boone on backing vocals), the melodic light and rockin’ shade of ‘Don‘t
Come Crying’ (which drops the phrase “dangerous music” into the chorus; Glenn
Hughes belting out “I still hear Burn!”
Is another nice touch) – there’s the funkier, almost Philly soul rock of the
title track (Glenn Hughes doing his best Stevie Wonder) and lovely, slow-dance
ballad ‘Haunted.’
The latter (one of two co-writes with Daniel Boone)
is not the Kitchen Sink Studios version but a later session from Dangerous Music
Studios in Bridgnorth; it also features Glenn Hughes’ original Trapeze
band-mates Mel Galley, Dave Holland and Terry Rowley.
Another from a later session is ‘Loving You.’ This
version, recorded live as a stripped back acoustic & vocal performance, was
recorded at Nomis Studio in London where final overdubs for the album were being
done.
Elsewhere the hard-edged
‘Number One’ (one of four Hughes-George co-writes) allows The Voice of Rock to
give it the full Glenn, while songs such as ‘Sweet Revenge’ and ‘The American
Way’ rock the funk, and funk the rock, respectively.
The thirteen track album is completed by ‘Machine’
(one of the best songs Prince never did), the melodic pop of ‘Steal My Heart’
and ‘Things Have Gotta Change,’ an endearing piece of synth-strings soft-rock
that no album featuring Robin George should be without (and seldom is).
Overcome is a long awaited win-win.
Not only is it an excellent album that showcases
Glenn Hughes in fine voice (recorded between his then addictive issues) fronting
some of Robin George’s best material, it’s also a case of Sweet Revenge on the
bootleg betrayers.
Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ
Overcome will be released on Cherry Red
Records’ HNE label on 24th November.
Pre-order at:
https://www.cherryred.co.uk/product/glenn-hughes-and-robin-george-overcome-cd/
Cherry Red Sales Sheet
Long lost collaboration by Glenn Hughes and Robin
George, originally recorded in 1989.
A chance meeting between Glenn Hughes and Robin George
eventually resulted in an invitation for Glenn to sing backing vocals for Robin
and Sean Harris’ Notorious album, which lead to a full collaboration between
Robin and Glenn. The album started life as a solo Robin George record and
developed into ‘Overcome’, complete with four songs co-written by the pair;
‘Number One’, ‘Sweet Revenge’, ‘Don’t Come Crying’, and the title track.
Such was the faith and strength in the new recordings,
that a major label deal was struck but fell through, leaving these recordings to
languish in the vaults. Glenn is on fine form on the album, and among the 13
tracks of melodic, and occasionally funky, hard rock, one special treat is the
track ‘Haunted’, essentially recorded by a reformed Trapeze, featuring Dave
Holland, Mel Galley and Terry Rowley.
Glenn Hughes has quite rightly been hailed “The Voice
Of Rock”, and for good reason. With a career that kicked off with Mel Galley and
Dave Holland in Trapeze in 1970, followed by Deep Purple between 1973 and 1976,
Glenn would also form Hughes / Thrall, join Black Sabbath, enjoy a successful
solo career, collaborate with artists as varied as Gary Moore, Joe Lynn Turner
and the KLF, founding Black Country Communion and California Breed, and fronting
The Dead Daisies.
Over the years, Robin
George has collaborated with many musical legends, from Led Zeppelin’s Robert
Plant, Thin Lizzy’s Philip Lynott, Uriah Heep’s David Byron, UFO’s Pete Way,
John Wetton & Asia, Daniel Boone, Raymond Froggatt and the Quireboys’ Spike.
As a native of Wolverhampton, it’s no surprise that
a musician of Robin George’s calibre would cross paths with local heroes
Trapeze.
TRACK LISTING
1 Flying
2 Overcome
3 I Want
4 Haunted (featuring Trapeze’s Dave Holland, Mel
Galley & Terry Rowley)
5 Number One
6 Sweet Revenge
7 The American Way
8 Machine
9 Steal My Heart
10 Things Have Gotta Change
11 Don’t Come Crying
12 Loving You
13 War Dance
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“Ace In My Hand’ is not a nostalgia trip. It’s a lesson in music for everyone.” Malcolm Dome. Over the years, Robin George has collaborated with many musical legends, from Thin Lizzy’s Philip Lynott, Uriah Heep’s David Byron, UFO’s Pete Way, and The Quireboys’ Spike to Deep Purple’s Glenn Hughes. As a native of Wolverhampton, it’s no surprise that a musician of his calibre would cross paths with local heroes Trapeze. Collaborating with Trapeze’s Dave Holland on drums and vocalist Peter Goalby, a new look Trapeze was put on hold when Holland received an offer to join Judas Priest for a run of world-beating HM classics. Despite this, Robin had assembled a strong collection of material to draw upon for his solo debut ‘History’. That album was followed by the hit single ‘Heartline’, a track that had a significant impact on both sides of the Atlantic, directly leading to Robin featuring on the cover of the important Kerrang! magazine, as well as being championed by highly influential rock DJs Tommy Vance and Alan ‘Fluff’ Freeman. Click to buy https://www.cherryred.co.uk/product/robin-george-ace-in-my-hand-2cd/
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Robin George Integrity magazine interview
What I did during Rockdown my friends! x
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For another side of Robin George, look and
listen no further than Heartlines.
A collection of stripped back numbers, Heartlines featuresRobin George
in solo/ acoustic mode, with the additional
textures of second acoustic or electric guitar and those trademark
multi-layered backing & harmony vocals.
Opening with the Dangerous Music brace of
'Heartline' and 'Spy,' Robin George goes on to deliver another twelve
acoustic (and electrically backed) numbers including rock and roll
lullaby number 'Dark and Stormy', the alt-country blues of 'Moonlight
Honey' and fun little looking back number, 'Early Daze.'
There's also room on Heartlines for a more delicate, acoustic mix of
Phil Lynott’s 'Kings Call,' which originally featured in more
electric-folk guise on 2001 tribute album The Spirit of the Black Rose.
The only thing you need to have, or hear,
from Robin George is the 12" of 'Heartline' and Dangerous Music?
Do me a favour.
Actually, do yourself a favour and acoustically engage with Heartlines.
Ross Muir
www.FabricationsHQ.com