China Black
Encyclopedia
China Black was a British
pop
-reggae
duo
, consisting of Simon Fung (songwriter
, composer
, lyricist
, guitarist
, keyboardist
, arranger
and record producer
) and Errol Reid (singer-songwriter
)
-Chinese
('China') and Reid, who has Jamaica
n heritage ('Black').
Their music is typified by heavy, lush string arrangements, gospel
choir
s, a dance
/pop/reggae beat, pizzicato
strings and mostly minor chord
arrangements on piano
.
for 12 weeks at number one and went top 5 in the R&B
chart. However their indie record label
went bankrupt and the track did not chart in the main UK Singles Chart
. However after much interest from major record companies they decided to go with Polydor Records
.
was notable for a growing pop/reggae crossover trend. Artists
such as Ace of Base
, Chaka Demus
& Pliers and Pato Banton
(with the help of UB40
), took their radio-friendly "pop/reggae" hits to the top of the UK charts for weeks. There was a resurgence in old reggae favourites, Aswad's popularity and the rise of Shaggy as a global star meant reggae was becoming increasingly mainstream. In July 1994 the newly re-signed group re-released "Searching" on the back of this trend. The song peaked at #4 on the UK chart, and stayed inside the top 75 for 16 weeks. China Black's blend of pop and reggae was a radio favourite all summer. "Searching" went on to sell over 400,000 copies in the UK, became a success across Europe and did particularly well in Japan.
Their second UK single, "Stars" peaked at #19 staying in the top 20 for 4 weeks. In February 1995 they released their third charting British single "Almost See You (Somewhere)", peaking at #31. They then released their sole album Born, which came into the UK Albums Chart
at #27. They had various Top 10 records in the Far East
, Singapore
, Malaysia, Thailand
and also Europe; particularly France (top 5) and Belgium (three Top 10s). They also had success in South Africa
, Germany and Sweden.
"Searching" was used in L'Oréal
's television campaign for one of its shampoo
s for a six month period and their music was used for arthouse films and TV productions.
The band took a break from promotions and toured around the world extensively. During this time China Black supported international artists like R. Kelly
, Sounds of Blackness
, Jamiroquai
and Dina Carroll
. Such was their success that China Black performed a duet with one of their heroes, Barry White
, live on the Paris TV show Taratata.
In the summer of 1995, China Black, together with Ladysmith Black Mambazo
recorded a cover version
of the American folk
song "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot
" for the official England Rugby World Cup
theme. It peaked at #15 in the UK, selling 200,000 copies.
However they became involved in a legal dispute with the American side of the record company and were involved in a lengthy lawsuit. When it was eventually resolved after 3 years, enthusiasm in the band had drastically decreased and although they put out another single, they decided to call it a day.
They sold approximately a million records worldwide and were nominated for a Brit Award for Best British Single in 1995. Among their fans
was Princess Diana who invited them to perform at one of her Aids Trust concert
s at Wembley Stadium
.
TV show Hit Me Baby One More Time
.
, Atomic Kitten
and Natasha Bedingfield
whilst also setting up his own record label as well as TV and film work.
Reid has gone on to become a solo singer/songwriter in his own right working with major dance, soul and reggae producers such Axwell
on Feel The Vibe, Allister Whitehead, DJ Swami, Mafia & Fluxy
, Jupiter Ace
and The Teamster to name a few. He has also gone on to tour with the likes of Tom Jones
as well as, writing the hit song "Please" and touring and singing with Robin Gibb
of the Bee Gees
around the World. Reid has also set up his own production company which has seen new artist Linda Kiraly
signed to Universal Records
in New York
and is currently working with his girl group
Cinderella Theory on new material.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
-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...
duo
Duet (music)
A duet is a musical composition for two performers. In classical music, the term is most often used for a composition for two singers or pianists; with other instruments, the word duo is also often used. A piece performed by two pianists performing together on the same piano is referred to as...
, consisting of Simon Fung (songwriter
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
, composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
, lyricist
Lyricist
A lyricist is a songwriter who specializes in lyrics. A singer who writes the lyrics to songs is a singer-lyricist. This differentiates from a singer-composer, who composes the song's melody.-Collaboration:...
, guitarist
Guitarist
A guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...
, keyboardist
Keyboardist
A keyboardist is a musician who plays keyboard instruments. Until the early 1960s musicians who played keyboards were generally classified as either pianists or organists. Since the mid-1960s, a plethora of new musical instruments with keyboards have come into common usage, requiring a more...
, arranger
Arrangement
The American Federation of Musicians defines arranging as "the art of preparing and adapting an already written composition for presentation in other than its original form. An arrangement may include reharmonization, paraphrasing, and/or development of a composition, so that it fully represents...
and record producer
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
) and Errol Reid (singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...
)
Overview
The band took its name from the different backgrounds of its members. Fung, who is BritishBritish people
The British are citizens of the United Kingdom, of the Isle of Man, any of the Channel Islands, or of any of the British overseas territories, and their descendants...
-Chinese
Chinese people
The term Chinese people may refer to any of the following:*People with Han Chinese ethnicity ....
('China') and Reid, who has Jamaica
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
n heritage ('Black').
Their music is typified by heavy, lush string arrangements, gospel
Gospel music
Gospel music is music that is written to express either personal, spiritual or a communal belief regarding Christian life, as well as to give a Christian alternative to mainstream secular music....
choir
Choir
A choir, chorale or chorus is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform.A body of singers who perform together as a group is called a choir or chorus...
s, a dance
Dance music
Dance music is music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing. It can be either a whole musical piece or part of a larger musical arrangement...
/pop/reggae beat, pizzicato
Pizzicato
Pizzicato is a playing technique that involves plucking the strings of a string instrument. The exact technique varies somewhat depending on the type of stringed instrument....
strings and mostly minor chord
Minor chord
In music theory, a minor chord is a chord having a root, a minor third, and a perfect fifth.When a chord has these three notes alone, it is called a minor triad....
arrangements on piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
.
First attempt at success (1992)
The group first released the song "Searching" in 1992 which stayed in the reggae chartRecord chart
A record chart is a ranking of recorded music according to popularity during a given period of time. Examples of music charts are the Hit parade, Hot 100 or Top 40....
for 12 weeks at number one and went top 5 in the R&B
Rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B, is a genre of popular African American music that originated in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a...
chart. However their indie record label
Record label
In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
went bankrupt and the track did not chart in the main UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
. However after much interest from major record companies they decided to go with Polydor Records
Polydor Records
Polydor is a record label owned by Universal Music Group, headquartered in the United Kingdom.-Beginnings:Polydor was originally an independent branch of the Deutsche Grammophon Gesellschaft. Its name was first used as an export label in 1924, the British and German branches of the Gramophone...
.
Second time lucky (1994-1995)
1994 in British pop musicPop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
was notable for a growing pop/reggae crossover trend. Artists
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
such as Ace of Base
Ace of Base
Ace of Base is a pop band based in Gothenburg, Sweden. Its original lineup consisted of Ulf "Buddha" Ekberg, and three siblings, Jonas "Joker" Berggren, Malin "Linn" Berggren and Jenny Berggren...
, Chaka Demus
Chaka Demus
John Taylor , better known as Chaka Demus, is a jamaican reggae musician and DJ.-Biography:Taylor was a regular attendee at Kingston dances and was given a chance by Prince Jammy to deejay on his sound system...
& Pliers and Pato Banton
Pato Banton
Pato Banton is a reggae singer and toaster from Birmingham, England. He received the nickname 'Pato' from his stepfather, and 'Banton' from the disc jockey slang for a "heavyweight DJ".-Biography:Born in Birmingham, Banton first came to public attention in the early 1980s when he worked with The...
(with the help of UB40
UB40
UB40 are a British reggae/pop band formed in 1978 in Birmingham. The band has placed more than 50 singles in the UK Singles Chart, and has also achieved considerable international success. One of the world's best-selling music artists, UB40 have sold over 70 million records.Their hit singles...
), took their radio-friendly "pop/reggae" hits to the top of the UK charts for weeks. There was a resurgence in old reggae favourites, Aswad's popularity and the rise of Shaggy as a global star meant reggae was becoming increasingly mainstream. In July 1994 the newly re-signed group re-released "Searching" on the back of this trend. The song peaked at #4 on the UK chart, and stayed inside the top 75 for 16 weeks. China Black's blend of pop and reggae was a radio favourite all summer. "Searching" went on to sell over 400,000 copies in the UK, became a success across Europe and did particularly well in Japan.
Their second UK single, "Stars" peaked at #19 staying in the top 20 for 4 weeks. In February 1995 they released their third charting British single "Almost See You (Somewhere)", peaking at #31. They then released their sole album Born, which came into the UK Albums Chart
UK Albums Chart
The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart...
at #27. They had various Top 10 records in the Far East
Far East
The Far East is an English term mostly describing East Asia and Southeast Asia, with South Asia sometimes also included for economic and cultural reasons.The term came into use in European geopolitical discourse in the 19th century,...
, Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
, Malaysia, Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
and also Europe; particularly France (top 5) and Belgium (three Top 10s). They also had success in South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
, Germany and Sweden.
"Searching" was used in L'Oréal
L'Oréal
The L'Oréal Group is the world's largest cosmetics and beauty company. With its registered office in Paris and head office in the Paris suburb of Clichy, Hauts-de-Seine, France, it has developed activities in the field of cosmetics...
's television campaign for one of its shampoo
Shampoo
Shampoo is a hair care product used for the removal of oils, dirt, skin particles, dandruff, environmental pollutants and other contaminant particles that gradually build up in hair...
s for a six month period and their music was used for arthouse films and TV productions.
The band took a break from promotions and toured around the world extensively. During this time China Black supported international artists like R. Kelly
R. Kelly
Robert Sylvester Kelly , better known by his stage name R. Kelly, is an American singer-songwriter and record producer. A native of Chicago, Kelly began performing during the late 1980s and debuted in 1992 with the group Public Announcement. In 1993, Kelly went solo with the album 12 Play...
, Sounds of Blackness
Sounds of Blackness
Sounds of Blackness is a Grammy Award-winning vocal and instrumental ensemble from Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota who perform music from several genres music including gospel, R&B, soul, and jazz. The group scored several hits on the Billboard R&B chart and Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play...
, Jamiroquai
Jamiroquai
Jamiroquai is a British jazz funk and acid jazz band formed in 1992. Jamiroquai were initially the most prominent component in the early-1990s London-based acid jazz movement, alongside groups such as Incognito, the James Taylor Quartet, and the Brand New Heavies. Other Acid Jazz artists such as...
and Dina Carroll
Dina Carroll
Dina Carroll is an English singer of Scottish and African American descent who had a string of hits from the late 1980s to the early 2000s.-Early career:...
. Such was their success that China Black performed a duet with one of their heroes, Barry White
Barry White
Barry White, born Barry Eugene Carter , was an American composer and singer-songwriter.A five-time Grammy Award-winner known for his distinctive bass voice and romantic image, White's greatest success came in the 1970s as a solo singer and with the Love Unlimited Orchestra, crafting many enduring...
, live on the Paris TV show Taratata.
In the summer of 1995, China Black, together with Ladysmith Black Mambazo
Ladysmith Black Mambazo
Ladysmith Black Mambazo is a male choral group from South Africa that sings in the vocal styles of isicathamiya and mbube. They rose to worldwide prominence as a result of singing with Paul Simon on his album, Graceland and have won multiple awards, including three Grammy Awards...
recorded a cover version
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
of the American folk
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
song "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot
Swing Low, Sweet Chariot
"Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" is a historic African-American spiritual. The first recording was in 1909, by the Fisk Jubilee Singers of Fisk University....
" for the official England Rugby World Cup
Rugby World Cup
The Rugby World Cup is an international rugby union competition organised by the International Rugby Board and held every four years since 1987....
theme. It peaked at #15 in the UK, selling 200,000 copies.
However they became involved in a legal dispute with the American side of the record company and were involved in a lengthy lawsuit. When it was eventually resolved after 3 years, enthusiasm in the band had drastically decreased and although they put out another single, they decided to call it a day.
They sold approximately a million records worldwide and were nominated for a Brit Award for Best British Single in 1995. Among their fans
Fan (person)
A Fan, sometimes also called aficionado or supporter, is a person with a liking and enthusiasm for something, such as a band or a sports team. Fans of a particular thing or person constitute its fanbase or fandom...
was Princess Diana who invited them to perform at one of her Aids Trust concert
Concert
A concert is a live performance before an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, a choir, or a musical band...
s at Wembley Stadium
Wembley Stadium
The original Wembley Stadium, officially known as the Empire Stadium, was a football stadium in Wembley, a suburb of north-west London, standing on the site now occupied by the new Wembley Stadium that opened in 2007...
.
2006
In the spring of 2006, the band re-emerged on the ITVITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
TV show Hit Me Baby One More Time
Hit Me Baby One More Time
Hit Me, Baby, One More Time was a 2005 reality show first aired by ITV on British television and later, as a new version, by NBC in the United States; both were presented by Vernon Kay. During each programme, five former pop stars sing their biggest hit along with a cover version of a contemporary...
.
Post 'China Black' (1998-onwards)
Fung turned his attention to songwriting, signing to Peermusic (one of the biggest independent publishers in the world) and working with various producers, writers and artists, such as BlueBlue
Blue is a colour, the perception of which is evoked by light having a spectrum dominated by energy with a wavelength of roughly 440–490 nm. It is considered one of the additive primary colours. On the HSV Colour Wheel, the complement of blue is yellow; that is, a colour corresponding to an equal...
, Atomic Kitten
Atomic Kitten
Atomic Kitten were an English girl group from Liverpool, first established in 1997. Created by Andy McCluskey, the final line-up, and most commercially successful, consisted of Natasha Hamilton, Liz McClarnon, and Jenny Frost...
and Natasha Bedingfield
Natasha Bedingfield
Natasha Anne Bedingfield is a British pop singer and songwriter. Bedingfield debuted in the 1990s as a member of the Christian dance/electronic group The DNA Algorithm with her siblings Daniel Bedingfield and Nikola Rachelle...
whilst also setting up his own record label as well as TV and film work.
Reid has gone on to become a solo singer/songwriter in his own right working with major dance, soul and reggae producers such Axwell
Axwell
Axwell is a DJ, remixer, record producer and record label owner from Sweden. He is part of a three person group dubbed the Swedish House Mafia along with Sebastian Ingrosso and Steve Angello...
on Feel The Vibe, Allister Whitehead, DJ Swami, Mafia & Fluxy
Mafia & Fluxy
Mafia & Fluxy are a United Kingdom reggae rhythm section and production team consisting of brothers Leroy and David Heywood , whose careers began with London reggae band The Instigators in 1977...
, Jupiter Ace
Jupiter ACE
The Jupiter Ace was a British home computer of the early 1980s, produced by a company, set up for the purpose, named Jupiter Cantab. The Ace differed from other microcomputers of the time in that it used FORTH instead of the more common BASIC.- Introduction :...
and The Teamster to name a few. He has also gone on to tour with the likes of Tom Jones
Tom Jones (singer)
Sir Thomas John Woodward, OBE , known by his stage name Tom Jones, is a Welsh singer.Since the mid 1960s, Jones has sung many styles of popular music – pop, rock, R&B, show tunes, country, dance, techno, soul and gospel – and sold over 100 million records...
as well as, writing the hit song "Please" and touring and singing with Robin Gibb
Robin Gibb
Robin Hugh Gibb, CBE is a British singer and songwriter. He is best known as a member of the Bee Gees, co-founded with his twin brother Maurice , and elder brother Barry....
of the Bee Gees
Bee Gees
The Bee Gees are a musical group that originally comprised three brothers: Barry, Robin, and Maurice Gibb. The trio was successful for most of their 40-plus years of recording music, but they had two distinct periods of exceptional success: as a pop act in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and as a...
around the World. Reid has also set up his own production company which has seen new artist Linda Kiraly
Linda Király
Linda Király is an American Hungarian singer-songwriter. She sings both in English and in Hungarian.-Biography:...
signed to Universal Records
Universal Records
Universal Records was a record label owned by Universal Music Group, and it is now owned by Manny Patino and Michael Jackson, and operated as part of the Universal Motown Republic Group.-History:...
in New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
and is currently working with his girl group
Girl group
A girl group is a popular music act featuring several young female singers who generally harmonise together.Girl groups emerged in the late 1950s as groups of young singers teamed up with behind-the-scenes songwriters and music producers to create hit singles, often featuring glossy production...
Cinderella Theory on new material.
Singles
- "Searching" (1994) UKUK Singles ChartThe UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
#4 - "Stars" (1994) UK #19
- "Almost See You (Somewhere)" (1995) UK #31
- "Swing Low, Sweet ChariotSwing Low, Sweet Chariot"Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" is a historic African-American spiritual. The first recording was in 1909, by the Fisk Jubilee Singers of Fisk University....
" (with Ladysmith Black MambazoLadysmith Black MambazoLadysmith Black Mambazo is a male choral group from South Africa that sings in the vocal styles of isicathamiya and mbube. They rose to worldwide prominence as a result of singing with Paul Simon on his album, Graceland and have won multiple awards, including three Grammy Awards...
) (1995) UK #15 - "Emotions" (1997) UK #79
- "Swing Low Sweet Chariot" (as United Colours Of Sound) (2002)