Peter Spence

Peter Spence is a reggae singer from Birmingham, England, associated with lovers rock and roots-oriented reggae. He begins his musical career in the early 1980s as a drummer and then rhythm guitarist in a group called the Experts before turning to singing and joining the Warrior sound system in the Balsall Heath area of Birmingham. He is taught guitar by his father, who plays in bands in Jamaica before settling in England.

Recording career

Spence makes his debut recording with Frivolous Woman for Birmingham producer G. T. Haynes, who also manages Pato Banton, Tippa Irie and Annette B, as well as Spence himself. His breakthrough comes in 1987 with the Greensleeves release Don't Leave Me Lonely, which brings him a Best Newcomer award. He then records a series of lovers rock tracks for the London label Fashion, including Yesterday's Magic, I Believe In Love and Crazy Feelings, alongside further recordings for G. T. Haynes such as A Love Affair.

His debut album for G. T. Haynes, I’ll Be There, appears in 1989 and wins Best Reggae Album at the Black Music awards for that year, while Spence is voted Best Male Reggae Singer. He later records with deejay Tippa Irie on Girl Of My Best Friend for Island, and the pair also work together again on the 1996 single Where Is The Love, produced by Peter Hunnigale. In 1999 he performs on a tribute record to Dennis Brown with an all-star line-up from the UK reggae community.

Collaborations and later work

Spence tours and records frequently with Tippa Irie and Pato Banton. He contributes to Pato Banton’s Life Is A Miracle album, which receives a Grammy nomination in 2000; seven of the tracks feature Spence, who also writes, plays and sings backing vocals on the record. One of those tracks, Ocean Warrior, is included on Surf Dog’s Music For Our Oceans project, run by a California charity focused on cleaning up the sea and protecting endangered species.

He also records answer versions and covers, including an answer to Gwen McRae’s Girlfriend’s Boyfriend for Jet Star and a cover of Bread’s Make It With You, which later appears in the Channel 4 documentary Dancehall Queens. Jet Star commissions Flying Without Wings and Make It With You for Pop Hits Inna Reggae Vol. 1.

Albums, labels and style

Spence’s second album, Unfinished Business, is released on Stingray in 1999. It includes Mr. Charmer and I Don’t Care and also features collaborations with Richie Davis, Lloyd Brown and Winsome. The album is recorded at Stingray’s Big House studio in northwest London and is described as a major stage in his career. Earlier, his song Mr. Charmer is recorded in New York with producer Tony English at Philip Smart’s HCF studio in Long Island and becomes a transatlantic reggae chart hit.

Spence’s work draws on Jamaican harmony groups such as the Heptones and Tamlins, and his catalogue includes both love songs and more conscious roots material. Tracks such as Know Yourself Mankind and Freedom gain anthem status in roots dances, while songs voiced for Gussie P include Redemption, They’re Still Crying, To The Bone and Whom Have I Angered. A retrospective collection of earlier songs, Lover’s Rock, is released by Warriors Of Peace in 2003, and he plans an album called Emotionally Charged for that label.