Born in Kingston, Jamaica on 5 July 1939, Owen Gray (aka Grey) is one of the true reggae and ska greats but was also the author of a handful of superb soul/mod 45s, recorded in the UK and France between 1965-1969.

Very little is known about this period and so we’d welcome any additional information that readers can provide in the comments section below, particularly around the recording of these individual singles, any unreleased recordings and the personnel on the tracks.

Owen arrived in England in May 1962 and was a prolific recording artist. Like Jimmy Cliff, he’s best known for his reggae recordings but he was an exceptionally gifted soul performer and worked with some top British musicians during the mid-to-late 1960s. His backing bands included The Sound System, The Krew, Tony Knight’s Chessmen and Maximum Breed.

His first venture into soul appears to have been with two singles on the small Aladdin label (see below).

Released on 12 March 1965, Owen Gray’s “Gonna Work Out Fine” c/w “Dolly Baby”, was the first of two 45s on the label, the first produced by Denny Cordell.

His second release “Lindy Lu” was backed by a great version of “Can I Get a Witness”, which has since become a Northern Soul favourite.

In mid-to-late 1965, he moved labels and to Island Records for three singles. The first coupled “Shook, Shimmy & Shake” with “I’m Going Back” and was followed by “Paradise” c/w “Bye Bye Love”. Little is known about the background to both of these releases and the personnel on the recordings.

Initially, the singer worked with The Soul Sets, including a gig at the Cue Club in early January 1966.

However, in January/February 1966, Chris Blackwell linked Owen with west London Mod outfit, The Sound System.

The band had morphed out of The All-Nite Workers and featured guitarist Tony St Clair; bass player Ron Thomas; keyboard player Mick Fletcher; sax players Mel Wayne and Dave Mahoney; and drummer Phil Wainman, who later went on to produce The Sweet among others.

Together, they backed Owen on a lone 45, a rousing version of “You Don’t Know Like I Know” backed by “Take Me Serious”, which appears to have been penned by Ron Thomas, who later went on to work with The Heavy Metal Kids, among others.

Owen Gray & The Sound System also gigged around the London club circuit in the first few months of 1966 before Blackwell linked them up with Jimmy Cliff and renamed them The New Generation. Later that year, the group became singer Gary Hamilton’s second version of The Hamilton Movement.

Left without a band, Owen joined forces with The Krew who’d just lost their two lead singers Beryl Marsden and Steve Aldo.

Led by scouser and future Wings sideman Howie Casey on sax, the group also featured fellow Liverpudlian Tommy Murray on lead guitar (who was later replaced by Ted Tunnicliffe); Glaswegian Archie Legget; Yorkshireman Eddie Sparrow on drums; and Londoner Alan Reeves on keyboards.

Owen Gray and The Krew moved to France in April 1966 and played several clubs in the ski resorts, notably the Bus Palladium in Courcheval, before landing a residency at exclusive Paris nightclub Le Bilboquet.

While playing in Paris in July that year, the musicians recorded an EP for Barclay Records’ subsidiary label, Riviera, comprising popular soul covers and strong Owen Gray originals, “Everything’s Alright” and “Somebody Stole My Girl”.

However, by the end of 1966, Owen Gray was back in London and back on the soul circuit, playing the clubs that were popular with the burgeoning Caribbean community such as Paddington’s Cue Club.

Back on Island Records, he recorded one of his finest soul outings, the stupendous “Help Me” coupled with “Incense”, which were produced by Chris Blackwell and Jimmy Miller respectively.

Issued in January 1967, the single should have been a massive hit but inexplicably it failed to chart and is now a much sought-after collectors’ item.

A few months later, Owen was back with another London band, this time Tony Knight’s Chessmen, led by drummer Tony Brown. The singer remained with the group until about September 1967.

During Owen’s time with The Chessmen, the musicians passing through included noted sax players Dave Coxhill and Stan Sulzmann and future John Mayall’s Bluesbreaker Keith Tillman.

In July 1967, the band travelled out to Italy to play the Piper Club in Viareggio.

Little is known about his soul projects from this point on, although he did work with singers Ruby and Youth backed by The Shell Shock Show during late 1967 and early 1968.

However, during 1968, he started to do studio work on the Old Kent Road with producer David Hadfield.

For the recordings, he was backed by Freddy Mack’s former band, The Mack Sound, who were going by the name Maximum Breed.

Future Butts Band and Gonzalez keyboard player Roy Davies was among the musicians in this talented band.

Several singles were issued during this period, including “Sitting in the Park” and “Dream Lover” but by now, Owen was starting to focus his efforts on the reggae audience.

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I have tried to ensure the accuracy of this article but I appreciate that there are likely to be errors and omissions. I would appreciate any feedback from anyone who can provide any additions or corrections. Email: Warchive@aol.com