Krista Henry, Staff Reporter

Pliers (right) and Chaka Demus are friends and artistes together. - Andrew Smith/Photography Editor

The paradox of rough-voiced deejaying and sweet, soulful singing is what has made Chaka Demus and Pliers the most successful duo in Jamaican music history.

With appeal that has crossed international borders, Chaka Demus and Pliers is the first Jamaican act to place three consecutive top five singles in the British charts.

Between June 1993 and January 1995, they notched up a record five consecutive UK Top 20 entries, including Twist & Shout, their number one hit with Jack Radics.

Both Chaka Demus (John Taylor) and Pliers (Everton Bonner) had established successful solo careers prior to combining their efforts. Demus launched his career on King Jammys sound, delivering singles such as One Scotch as a duet with Admiral Bailey, and Everybody Loves Chaka.

Pliers, who worked with such producers as King Jammys, Winston Riley, King Tubby, Black Scorpio and Coxsone Dodd, recorded such solo hits as Snake In The Grass and Bam Bam.

However, when they combined it was pure magic, Murder She Wrote being one of their songs stamped into Jamaican music history. The Sunday Gleaner talked with Chaka Demus and Pliers about their more fruitful years in dancehall.

Sunday Gleaner: How did you get your name?

Pliers: I got my name from Pinchers, the dancehall singer. Is really Black Scorpio and Dignitary Stylish heard di singing one day and seh it sound like Pinchers, so it would be a perfect name for me at the time when Pinchers was hot in the dancehall. First really I was going under my original name, Everton Bonner.

Chaka: Mi rate Nicodemus, yuh know. Mi like how him sound so mi name myself Nicodemus Jr. A good friend of mine tell mi seh mi a sound better and better every day, so yuh nuh name Nicodemus Jr. again, yuh name is now Chaka Demus and mi love di name.

SG: What were you each doing before coming together?

Pliers: I used to have my own solo career, recording for different producers and singing on sound system and stuff, until I met Chaka Demus in early 1990s.

Chaka: Mi deh just a DJ on sound system like King Jammys, GT, Supreme of Love, Roots Majesty. Just going around deejaying in the dancehall.

SG: How did you guys meet?

Pliers: We met at the United States Embassy. We had a show at the time, me, Chaka Demus, Shabba Ranking, Ninja Man and a lot of artistes.

We were going on a small mini tour wid a radio disc jockey in New York. That was the first time I really met Chaka Demus face to face, then we just reason.

SG: Why did you decide to come together?

Pliers: We decide to come together on a date Chaka Demus friend have in Tampa, Florida. It was a big promoter at the time of the name Purple Mind and Chaka Demus introduce me to him and dem give me a job on the show and mi inna di country and do di show.

Me perform before Demus and di end of Chaka Demus performance to end di show him call me on stage and we a do some freestyle. Di freestyle was di betta part of di show. So Chaka Demus suggest we could put it on record also. We come back to Jamaica and did a song called Gal Wine.

Chaka: That was our first song together, it went to number one in London, spent 33 weeks on the charts.

SG: Was it your intention to stay together so long?

Pliers: We neva really plan nutting.

Chaka: Is just Jah. A Jah mek it work. If it was something dat did plan it woulda mash up already.

SG: Ever thought of going solo?

Chaka: We still do we song by wiself, Pliers have him solo song same way, mi have mine same way. Pliers have a likkle one showhim do it same way. Remember we can perform by ourselves same way; we're very versatile. Is like when we come together we more powerful still.

SG: What is the strength of a duo?

Pliers: Understanding and brotherly love.

SG: Are there, or have there been, any weaknesses?

Pliers: Every human being have weaknesses, nuh care how yuh strong. But mi nuh really identify dat stuff might be there.

SG: Did you guys always want to do music?

Pliers: Always.

Chaka: From mi know myself mi always a sing. Mi mother always a lock mi out fi go a dance, nuff time when mi old man lock mi out my mother let me in. Mi deh a dance till all 1:00 or 2:00 a.m. From bout 12, mi seh a music mi waan do.

SG: Have you guys ever been booked for major shows separately?

Pliers: No, not on major shows, but we have performed separately.

SG: Is there any other duo you've seen recently that you think could make it? Or remind you of yourselves?

Pliers: Tanto Metro and Devonte carry a good vibes. This combination thing, it used to happen in Jamaica with Michigan and Smiley, even people who older than dem. But is Chaka Demus and Pliers spread the t'ing worldwide, When we go cross Europe and tour di world, people a wonder where we get that idea from.

Chaka: Even Fugees ask where we get this unique sound from.

SG: Did you guys expect so many number one hits?

Pliers: Not really.

Chaka: We know seh we woulda buss yes, but we neva know we woulda sell so much records. We realise seh we on top of di pops, we can hardly walk pon di road in England.

Pliers: It was kinda uncomfortable going on the flights. Give respect to people, love dem, but sometimes it was too much. Too much people. It good but ... nice if dem di see us as normal doing a job. Crazy excitement sometimes.

Chaka: It stressing sometimes. Di fan dem, wi love dem.

SG: I understand at one point your record label disintegrated. How were you affected by that?

Pliers: It affect us yes. The second we dem for dem (Island Records) it was strong hit album. It tek off in Hawaii same like Shaggy's It Wasn't Me.

We had a song on the album, Witness Stand, and at the time it

release di people from di record stores, di journalists tell us at the time Celine Dion release an album at di time, it was outselling Celine Dion and it just fly. But stuff happen wid dem and it just neva happen.

Chaka: Is just passa passa dem come wid.

SG: What did you guys do after that?

Pliers: We just move on, keep on recording. We formed our own labels.

SG: When did you guys last tour?

Chaka: We did a college tour in England last year.

SG: What are you guys doing now?

Chaka: We have a new album called Back Off The Wall. We release di album bout a year ago and we tek it off di road and start remix it. Start do some new tracks, we have a new single out by the name of Need Your Loving. It's on the Explorer record label. We have a video out for the song. We expect big things from this single. So far it has been going very very well.

SG: How would you like to be remembered?

Pliers: As the greatest duo of all time, many historical tings happen between me and Chaka on di road. Just because we neva have a media, some people who really tour wid we, mek Jamaica know di power and strength of di music.