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b. 13 January 1946, Kingston, Jamaica, West Indies. Boris Gardiner, bass player, vocalist and musical director, has never been one of reggae’s most celebrated names, but he has remained a permanent fixture in the music and has three major UK chart hits to his credit. His bass-playing skills first emerged in the late 60s, and the bands he graced included Byron Lee’s Dragonaires, the Aggrovators, Crystalites and many more. His first brush with chart success was ‘Elizabethan Reggae’, recorded for Lee, which hit number 14 in January 1970. Gardiner toured the UK in support of his hit, which, at first, was incorrectly credited to its producer. His debut album, again produced by Lee, was released the same year. In its wake, Gardiner immersed himself in session work, regularly playing as part of the Now Generation band, and he later became a member of Lee Perry’s Upsetters, following Carlton and Aston ‘Familyman’ Barrett’s defection to the Wailers. His solid, incisive basslines were seldom pro...