October 16, 1996 the first Skasplash tour started with the amazing 21 following members.
The Skatalites with Laurel Aitken
- Doreen Shaffer, singer
- Laurel Aitken, singer
- Lloyd Knibb, drums
- Lloyd Brevett, bass
- Rolando Alphonso, tenor saxophone
- Lester Sterling, alto saxophone
- Nathan Breedlove, trumpet
- Will Clark, trombone
- Devon James, guitar
- Bill Smith, keyboards
House of Rhythm & backing band for Laurel Aitken
The London based “House of Rhythm” was built after some members have left “Maroon Town”. Jeff Lucas, leader of the “House Of Rhythm” founded the group in 1995. They released an EP “Sign Of The Times” and soon after the double CD “In A Different Style“.
Short before the Skasplash tour started, the band split up. Jeff had to build a new House Of Rhythm for the tour.
Tony Looby of the Laurel Aitken band “The Pressure Tennants” took the second saxophone part. He was the only member in the House Of Rhythm who played with Laurel Aitken before the tour.
- Jeff Lucas, bass
- Jeremy Holroyd, drums
- Cutty Williams, singer
- Kirk Thorne, guitar and backing vocals
- Bessa, keyboards
- Tony Looby, saxophone and flute
- Dave Nicholson, tenor saxophone
Crew
- Shay, tour manager
- Vin, head of WorldBeat (not really on tour, but the man behind Skasplash and the whole tour, Shay’s cousin)
- Barney, merchandiser and driver
- Duncan, roadie and driver
- Claude (aka C-lector C), DJ, helping hand and yours truly presenter of this pages
Find out more about each one until november 2016. Stay tuned.
