Alphonso Martin aka 'Phonso' (born March 20, 1956, in Birmingham

Birmingham

Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

) was a percussionist and vocalist for the reggae

Reggae

Reggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s. While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Jamaican music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady.Reggae is based...

 group Steel Pulse

Steel Pulse

Steel Pulse is a roots reggae musical band. They originally formed at Handsworth Wood Boys School, in Birmingham, England, composed of David Hinds , Basil Gabbidon , and Ronald McQueen .-History:...

.

He joined Pulse in 1976, as a friend of David Hinds

David Hinds

David "Dread" Hinds is the English rhythm guitarist and lead vocalist for the Grammy Award winning reggae band, Steel Pulse....

. He played percussion and backup vocals for fifteen years, until leaving the band in 1991 after the release of Victims

Victims (album)

Victims is a reggae album released by Steel Pulse in June 1991. It is Steel Pulse's eighth studio album. This album continues the crossover trend that Steel Pulse followed in the late 80's...

to pursue alternative interests.

He currently lives in Birmingham.