Finley Quaye
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Finley Quaye | |
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| Born | 25 March 1974 Edinburgh,Scotland, United Kingdom |
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| Years active | 1993–present |
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Finley Quaye(born 25 March 1974,Edinburgh,Scotland)[3]is a Scottish musician. He won the 1997Mobo Awardfor bestreggaeact, and the 1998BRIT Award[4]for Best Male Solo Artist. His debut album,Maverick A Strike,a fusion of many styles including reggae and soul, was a commercial success and was certified double platinum by theBritish Phonographic Industry.
Life
[edit]Finley Quaye is the son of vaudeville pianistCab Kayeand the half-brother of the English guitaristCaleb Quaye.
Born in Edinburgh, Quaye went to school inLondon,Manchesterand Edinburgh. However, he left school with no qualifications because of domestic violence in the household. Before making records he took employment spraying cars, smoking fish, making futons and as a stage-rigger and scaffolder.
His father was born in London, but considered himself asAfrican.Although known asCab Kaye,his full name wasNii Lante Augustus Kwamlah Quayeand he was aChiefof theGatribe centralized in Jamestown,Accra, Ghana.Kaye was the son of the pianistCaleb Jonas Quayea.k.a.Mope Desmond,who was born in Accra, Ghana. Finley did not grow up with his father and only found out fully, in his twenties, about his father's history as a musician. Mope Desmond, Cab Kaye and Finley Quaye have all playedGlasgow'sBarrowlands,Wolverhampton's Wulfrun Hall and London'sCafe de Paris.Finley was on tour with his band when he met his father for the first time inAmsterdam.
Finley Quaye was inspired early on in his childhood by jazz musicians Pete King,Ronnie Scott,who started his musical career making tea and running errands in Finley's father's band, andLionel Hampton.Quaye heard jazz as a child, living in London with his mother, who would take him with her toRonnie Scott's jazz club to catch performances of American jazz musicians touring Europe such asBuddy Rich,who recorded his live album therein 1980and alsoElla Fitzgerald.Quaye's mother had long term relationships with musician Pete King, who hosted and performed at Ronnie Scott's club in Frith Street, London, as well asDodi Fayed,a film producer who producedBreaking GlasswithHazel O'ConnorandThe Long Good FridaywithBob Hoskins.Around this time Finley was also taken along to see the likes ofThe Ramonesin rehearsal, with journalist photo editor for the music press the NME / Melodymaker, Howard a dear friend of his Mum's, Sharon. In Edinburgh shows that made an impact in early years wereFrank Chickensduring the Fringe Festival at The Hole In The Ground that was behind the Usher Hall.Peter Greenof Fleetwood Mac at The Venue withCozy Powellon drums around 1990. Art has always been an influence and a constant source of inspiration and central to Finley Quaye's mind set and artistic approach. Finley Quaye attended TheFrieze ART Fairat Regents Park as well asGilbert & GeorgeandHarlan Millerexhibitions and opening nights. Finley gave awards away at TheIndian Film Awardsat The Millennium dome in London as well asDavid Gray'sIvor Novelloat The Dorchester Hotel in London.
Cab Kaye died while depressed in Amsterdam and ultimately died by Euthanasia which was organised by immediate family without Finley's approval or consent. Since then Finley has been unable to accept his Father's death or celebrate his life, or to write books about this or to make films covering this episode of his life.
Finley's youngest of two sons, Caleb Quaye, tragically took his own life in 2023.
Career
[edit]Quaye made a solorecording contractwithPolydor Recordsand moved to New York City. He began working withEpic/Sonyunlawfully while he was still signed to Polydor, and in late 1997 he reached the UKTop 20twice, with "Sunday Shining" and "Even After All".[5]His reputation was established byMaverick A Strike,released in September 1997. It wentgoldless than three weeks later, and led directly to theBRIT Awardvictory. The album is now certified 2× platinum in the UK.[6]In 1998, Quaye recorded and producedGeorge Gershwin's "It Ain't Necessarily So"for theRed Hot Organization's compilation albumRed Hot + Rhapsody,a tribute toGeorge Gershwin,which raised money for various charities devoted to increasing AIDS awareness and fighting the disease, on the recording Quaye played bass and guitar, Carl Robsinson played drums, Monty Alexander played piano and Ernest Ranglin played guitar. He recorded in 1998 withBuju BantonandSly Dunbarin Kingston, Jamaica at Penthouse Studios and also recorded with Tricky and Iggy Pop at Sony Music Studios, in Manhattan, New York City.[citation needed]
Two more albums were released onEpic,Vanguard(2000) andMuch More Than Much Love(2004). "Spiritualized" became his last single to score a top 40 landing in the UK chart when it was released in September 2000, reaching number 26.[5]In 2004 the single "Dice"was released in collaboration withWilliam Orbitand featuringBeth Orton.The song featured inFox Network'sThe OCand on the season 1 soundtrack, becoming a minor hit.[citation needed]
He released the EPPound for Poundwith Intune Records in 2008, with Norman Grant of theTwinkle BrothersfeaturingSly DunbarandLloyd Parks.
Three albums were made between 2019 and 2023 but also removed from distribution and outlets because of lack of recognition, interest or support in the United kingdom in terms of live agents, labels and publishers. This was the sole reason for the removal of the material.
In 2021 Finley was awarded by Queen Elizabeth II, the Queens Award For Voluntary Service with Food For All, for preparing food and for campaigning as well as distributing free and hot food to the homeless in London between 2000 and 2024.
Discography
[edit]Studio albums
[edit]| Year | Album | Peak positions | Certifications | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK [5] |
AUS [7] |
FRA [8] |
NL [9] |
NZ [10] | |||
| 1997 | Maverick A Strike | 3 | 77 | 38 | 46 | 11 | |
| 2000 | Vanguard | 35 | — | 44 | — | — | |
| 2003 | Much More Than Much Love | 56 | — | 148 | — | — | |
| 2012 | 28th February Rd. | — | — | — | — | — | |
| 2014 | Royal Rasses | — | — | — | — | — | |
| 2017 | Straight from the Country | — | — | — | — | — | |
| 2019 | Faux Naïf | — | — | — | — | — | |
| 2021 | Sycamore Seeds Under The Sycamore Tree | — | — | — | — | — | |
| 2022 | A Sign Of Things To Come[11] | — | — | — | — | — | |
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released. | |||||||
Compilations
[edit]- The Best of the Epic Years 1995-2003(2008)
Extended plays
[edit]- Oranges and Lemons(2005)
- Pound For Pound(2008)
Singles
[edit]| Year | Single | Peak positions | Album | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK [5] |
NL [9] |
US Alt. [12] |
US Dance Sales [13] | ||||
| 1997 | "Sunday Shining" | 16 | 80 | 26 | — | Maverick A Strike | |
| "Even After All" | 10 | — | — | — | |||
| "It's Great When We're Together" | 27 | — | — | — | |||
| 1998 | "Your Love Gets Sweeter" | 16 | — | — | — | ||
| "Ultra Stimulation" | 51 | — | — | — | |||
| 2000 | "Spiritualized" | 26 | — | — | — | Vanguard | |
| "When I Burn off into the Distance" | 80 | — | — | — | |||
| 2003 | "Dice"(withWilliam Orbit) | — | — | — | 18 | Much More Than Much Love | |
| "Something to Say"(promotional single) | — | — | — | — | |||
| 2006 | "For My Childrens Love" | — | — | — | — | Royal Rasses | |
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released. | |||||||
Other collaborations
[edit]- "Finley's Rainbow" onA Guy Called Gerald'sBlack Secret Technology(1995)
- "Caravan" onTimo Maas' albumLoud(2002)
- "Stranges Changes" onA Guy Called Gerald'sTo All Things What They Need(2005)
- "We Are Dreamers" onCathy Claret's albumGypsy Flower(2007)
- "After Tonight" onAva Leigh'sLa La La(2007)
- "Metamorphosis" onChristopher Chaplin's albumM(2020)
References
[edit]- ^Kenon, Marci (16 September 2000)."An Onslaught of New Product".Billboard.p. 68.Retrieved23 January2021– viaGoogle Books.
- ^Monger, Timothy (n.d.)."Finley Quaye: Biography & History".AllMusic.Retrieved23 January2021.
- ^Music Scotland - The Vault - Biogs.BBC (1974-03-25). Retrieved on 2014-04-19.
- ^"Finley Quaye Backs Brits Win with New Single and Tour".16 January 1998.
- ^abcd"Official Charts > Finley Quaye".Official Charts Company.Retrieved13 May2020.
- ^ab"BRIT Certified > Certified Awards Search".British Phonographic Industry.Retrieved13 May2020.N.B. User needs to enter 'Finley Quay' into the search box to display results.
- ^Ryan, Gavin (2011).Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010(pdf ed.). Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 227.
- ^"lescharts.com > Finley Quaye dans les Charts Français"(in French). Hung Medien.Retrieved13 May2020.
- ^ab"dutchcharts.nl > Finley Quay in Dutch Charts"(in Dutch). Hung Medien.Retrieved13 May2020.
- ^"charts.nz > Finley Quay in New Zealand Charts".Hung Medien.Retrieved13 May2020.
- ^"OLD BAKERY STUDIOS | Finley Quaye + Rosie Crow SOLD OUT".OLD BAKERY STUDIOS.
- ^"Billboard > Chart History > Finley Quaye > Alternative Songs".Billboard.Retrieved13 May2020.
- ^"Billboard > Chart History > Finley Quaye > Dance Singles Sales".Billboard.Retrieved13 May2020.
External links
[edit]- Finleyquaye.comat theWayback Machine(archived 29 July 2012) - official website
- Finley Quayediscography atDiscogs
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