Keith Byles (known as "Junior Byles" or "Chubby" ) is a reggae singer born 1948 in Kingston Jamaica.
Originally working as a fireman, Junior formed a vocal trio "The Versatiles" in 1967. Generally considered Junior's best recordings is his work as a solo artist with Lee Perry and for the JA Man label in the early and mid 1970's.
Byles's songs epitomised the "sufferers" style of lyric and delivery - the outsider struggling to maintain his Rastafarian and African integrity within "Babylon"; exemplified in titles such as the "Long Way" for Lee Perry and "Fade Away" for the Hookim brothers at Channel One. For the wider listening public the songs can invoke a spiritual bulwark against life's adversities.
Junior's recording output diminished in the 1980's and 1990's as he battled with severe mental illhealth problems. A well reviewed return to live performance in Jamaica in 2004 lead to an ill advised short tour of England where his distress was all apparent on stage.
Kerrie "Junior"Byles was born in Kingston, Jamaica, in 1948.
Byles was the opposite extreme, renowned for his moodiness, and he alarmingly started falling into paroxysms of deep depression.
However, virtually everything Byles released that year was to be overwhelmed by the single "Fade Away." Produced by JoJo Hookims, this powerful dread single was a smash not just in Jamaica, but in the Britain as well, where it hit with the strength of a nuclear blast.
Byles was now sounding stronger as he advised 'your heart and soul you must give to Jah' and he dropped in an ad lib invitation for the audience to sing along with him.
Byles held his arms wide and allowed the acclaim to wash over him, but he could not hold them far enough apart to embrace even a fraction of the outpouring of love from the huge audience.
JuniorByles stayed on-stage a lot longer than customary for an artiste at the end of the set.
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