by Howard Campbell
SOUTH FLORIDA – Reggae Ambassadors Third World continues its 45th anniversary celebrations on July 5 with a show at The Casino at Dania Beach, South Florida.
Dubbed “Third World and Family Celebrating 45 Years”, it sees the veteran reggae band sharing the stage with special guests including Pluto Shervington and Diana King.
Last year (2018) was actually their 45th anniversary, but founder and guitarist Stephen “Cat” Coore said the band did no shows in Florida, where most of its members live.
“We were in contact with the people at Dania Beach for some time and we thought this was a wonderful opportunity to do something in July with artists I call the Florida people,” he explained. Shervington and King are two of those ‘Florida people’.
Shervington was at his peak as a singer/songwriter in the early and mid-1970s when Third World emerged as a band to watch, while King had a monster hit song with Shy Guy in the mid-1990s, a time of transition for Coore and his colleagues.
Coore disclosed that 12 persons will be honored during the show, for playing various roles with the band over the years. He also said their latest album, produced by Damian “Junior Gong” Marley, will be released in August.
Reflecting on Third World’s career, Coore stated that resilience has been the aggregations forte.
“I would say when things began to change after Ibo (Cooper) and Willie (Stewart) left, how Richie (Daley) and (Bunny) Rugs kept the band together is definitely one of the high points for me. I am very happy that Third World has been able to run the race,” he said.
In 1996, keyboardist and co-founder Cooper and drummer Stewart left the group over creative differences. Coore, bassist Daley and singer Rugs, soldiered on as members from the classic lineup that scored numerous hit songs in the 1970s and 1980s, like Now That We Found Love, Try Jah Love, Girl From Hiroshima, Lagos Jamming and Reggae Ambassadors.
Rugs died in 2014, while percussionist Irwin “Carrot” Jarrett, another member from the early days, passed away last year.
Singer A. J. Brown, drummer Tony “Ruption” Williams, keyboardists Norris Webb and Maurice Gregory complete the current Third World lineup. They recently did shows in Greece, France, Malta, Germany and South Africa.
Though a single, Loving You is Easy, has been released from the upcoming album, Coore was tight lipped about an official release date for their first set of new songs in five years.
“You will hear more soon but it’s definitely in August. The album’s looking great,” he said.
