ENGLAND’S SOUL II SOUL STARTED AS AN INCLUSIVE, GENRE-SPANNING SOUND SYSTEM HELMED BY THE MULTITALENTED, LONDON- BORN, CARIBBEAN-DESCENDED JAZZIE B AND HIS MATES. AS THEY MOVED FROM THE STREETS TO WAREHOUSES AND FINALLY INTO THE AFRICA CENTRE, THE SELF-STYLED DJ COLLECTIVE’S DANCE PARTIES GREW INCREASINGLY POPULAR AND INFLUENTIAL, AND THEY RECRUITED TALENTED MUSICIANS AND SINGERS COMING TO THEIR WEEKLY AND CREATED THEIR FIRST SINGLE, “FAIRPLAY.” WITH THE SONG’S SUCCESS, VIRGIN RECORDS GAVE THE CREW FURTHER CHANCES TO SHINE, AND THEIR NEXT SINGLE, “KEEP ON MOVIN’ ” FEATURING THE INCOMPARABLE CARON WHEELER, WOULD HIT NUMBER ONE IN THE U.S. THE NEXT SINGLE, HOWEVER, “BACK TO LIFE (HOWEVER DO YOU WANT ME),” ALSO FEATURING WHEELER, PROPELLED SOUL II SOUL INTO THE STRATOSPHERE AND INTO THE ANNALS OF MUSIC HISTORY. SOUND COLLECTIVE
by Dan Dodds
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( opening spread ) Soul II Soul performing at the Palladium in New York City, 1990. Photo by Catherine McGann/Getty Images.
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