Blake
Teino Evans, Staff Reporter
FOR MANY local music lovers, in the early to mid 80s Paul Blake and the Bloodfire 'Posse' was a household name, as Blake and his band delivered hit tunes like Rub-A-Dub Soldier and Get Flat. However, Blake would soon experience a life-changing revelation that would change his focus entirely.
Paul Blake's introduction to music was in high school, when he was a member of the Kingston College school choir. And it was from there, that Blake would later discover his talent as a solo singer.
"I started out in high school. I attended KC and I used to sing in the choir there. But the first time I sang by myself it was at a pop concert at our sister school, St. Hugh's High School and when I started singing I heard the girls screaming. And I couldn't believe that they were screaming for me. It was the first time that I was singing by myself over a microphone," Blake recalled.
After such encouragement, Blake found the courage to take his performance before an even greater audience, as in 1980 he started singing pop music at the Bohemia Night-Club in Hagley Park Plaza.
"It was a very popular night-club at the time, where all the musicians use to hang out, like the Wailers and Third World. It was there that I met Boris Gardiner. He heard me singing there and he invited me to join his band and from there we started singing at the Inter-Continental Hotel (now Wyndham Rose Hall Hotel)," Blake said.
CABARET SINGER
Blake's stint as the lead singer for the band lasted for only a couple of years, as he later decided to branch off on his own as a cabaret singer in different hotels. In 1983 he formed his own band, called 'Paul Blake and the Bloodfire Posse'.
"In 1984 we wrote our first song, entitled Rub-A-Dub Soldier, which went straight to number one, and also our second song, Get Flat, followed quickly to the top of the charts," he said.
Paul Blake and the Bloodfire Posse' got their first live exposure internationally when they went on tour with Judy Mowatt later that year. They toured the West Coast in the U.S, going to places like San Diego, San Francisco and Los Angeles, then heading north to Canada.
The group was signed in 1986 to Colombia Records, London (now Sony Records), and later landed a few tours on their own. "We toured to places like England, Belgium, France, Austria, Switzerland, South France, Germany and Holland," Blake recalled. "The biggest tour of my life was when I toured with UB40 in 1986, where we toured the entire UK and Northern Ireland to sold out crowds."
However, in the midst of having such a successful time as a band, touring, putting out hit songs and landing record deals, Paul Blake made a difficult decision, deciding that it was time for him to part with the band he had formed and grown to love.
In trying to relate some of the factors that influenced his decision to leave the band, Blake himself was unable to fully explain the circumstances.
"The group and I parted company in 1987. The band got to a point where they changed the name to just the Bloodfire Posse', as people felt that I was getting special recognition but I feel like I was forced to go," Blake said.
After leaving the Bloodfire Posse', Blake continued to sing on his own, embarking on a solo career that gave him a major hit. The song, entitled Give Peace A Chance featured Third World, Admiral Bailey, Nadine Sutherland and Junior Tucker. "This song came out a little after Hurricane Gilbert and we did a video that had a powerful impact in bringing a peaceful election to Jamaica at that time. I was nominated for the Gleaner Honour Award in 1988, won a special JAMI Awards and the Rockers Award for Best Reggae Video of the year," Blake said.
FACED WITH LOSS
In 1991 Blake was again faced with loss, when his father died. This, Blake said, was a very difficult time and it made him take a closer look at his own life.
"After my father died it was at that time that I decided to re-dedicate my life to the Lord. My father was like my best friend, so it was a painful time in my life," Blake said.
Blake took his new life seriously, as he started attending Church on the Rock in St. Andrew, under Pastor David Keane. Within a year or two he became the worship leader at the church until 1997, when he and his family moved to Montego Bay.
"My wife and I then founded a ministry called 'Sold Out Ministries International'. This ministry is an outreach evangelical ministry, where we minister in the prisons weekly, hospitals, schools and colleges, the AIDS Hospice in Montego Bay, the Copse Boys Home and we also do street meetings, for example in the Sam Sharpe Square." Blake explained.
The church that Blake now attends is called the Lighthouse of Faith Ministries International, under Reverend Phillip Gordon. There, he is currently the music minister and outreach director.
Blake says he has a gospel album that he never released, as he just never had the confidence. But now he is working on a new debut gospel album called Christ In Me, which he says is mostly reggae, which he hopes to release by the end of February.
"I want to first release a single called Create In Me, which came after 21 days of fasting and the Lord just gave me this song. It's related to Psalm 51, where David actually committed murder and adultery and he cried out to God for forgiveness," he said.
Blake says he believes that this song is not only for Jamaica, but also for the entire body of Christ.
