Icho Candy

b. Winston Evans, c.1964, Jamaica, West Indies. Probably the first the world heard of roots enigma Icho Candy was his anonymous appearance on Channel 4’s Deep Roots programme in 1982, where he was seen twisting his tortured, Horace Andy -styled tonsils around ‘Where Do The Children Play’ in company with DJ Bobby Culture, singing live on the Jack Ruby Hi Fi Sound System. Ruby produced Icho Candy’s debut, ‘Little Children No Cry’, which failed to generate interest in further recordings. He then went to Joe Gibbs’ studio in Retirement Crescent, where he recorded ‘Bandulu’, which also failed to make a significant impression. He eventually found success working with Prince Jazzbo, who had set up his own Ujama label. The label specialized in producing acts that other producers overlooked, often with surprising results. The recording session resulted in ‘Mr User’ and ‘Blood Sucker’, both of which became roots hits and thereby establishing a small cult following for himself in the UK. Never the most prolific of singers, he embarked on, what was for him, a burst of recording activity during the latter part of the decade, with singles such as ‘In Texas Town’ (1987), a bizarre cowboy variation on the Cajun standard ‘Jambalaya (On The Bayou)’, the apocalyptic roots anthem ‘Babylon’ (1987) for Augustus Pablo’s Rockers label, ‘Cool Down Sufferer’ (1989) for Tesfa McDonald, and ‘Jah Calling All Over The World’ (1990) for Cashima Steel’s Creation label, for whom he also recorded a (so far) unreleased album. He also provided an album’s worth of material for Finnish producer Tero Kaski, of which only one track, ‘Resign Babylon’ (1994), has so far emerged. Another period of obscurity was broken in 1993 by the release of Glory To The King, issued on Jah Shaka’s King Of The Zulu Tribe label.