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AUDREY SCOTT
Audrey was born in Birmingham to Jamaican parents who settled in England during the late ‘50s. As a youngster, she began singing in Church, joined the Choir aged 12 and was a member of her School’s Choir. Her main inspiration came from her mother who always sang along to Country & Western, Reggae and Gospel records back then. One of her favourite artists was Millie Small  (My Boy Lollipop) but, she was also inspired by Doris Day (she loved musicals), Three Degrees, The Supremes and later Marcia Griffiths, Judy Mowatt and Gladys Knight.
At college, Audrey became friends with Janette who introduced her to Noel Salmon (aka Fish) who played keyboards in a Band she was singing with at the time. After a few rehearsals, Noel asked if they would sing some of his songs. They began to rehearse with Noel and later formed the group, The Sadonians. Another girl was needed so when Veronica was introduced to them, they became a Trio and began recording in 1977 at Gooseberry Studios for the Neville King label. Their first Single was titled ‘The Day Will Come’ and it reached number 4 in the Black Echoes (newspaper) music charts. Their next recording was with producer, John Rubie of Freedom Sound Records with whom they delivered ‘Goodbye My Love’ and ‘Disappointments’.
‘Goodbye My Love’ is the group’s biggest hit to date. However, they separated as things were not working out with the producer and Audrey continued to sing as a Solo artist. In 1985, she joined ‘The Peoples Choir’ lead by Joe Benjamin, toured London and recorded the album ‘Who Wants To Live In Britain’ with them but left after a year. She then hooked up with Noel again, formed a Duo and toured the music circuit around the UK. In the early ‘90s, she met another producer, Jah Larry of Clarendon Sounds and recorded the album, ‘Step By Step’, released in 1994 for Prestige Records. “Songs were released as Singles and played on Jamaica’s Irie FM radio station. I got the chance to work with The Heptones who provided backing vocals on my album and also worked with the Crucial Vibes band”, she recalls.
In 1998, Audrey worked on the Windrush Showcase in London with the likes of (the late) Louisa Marks, Jean Binta Breeze, Felicity Ethnic, Eddie Nestor & Robbie Gee. She has since continued to tour the UK with various artists including The Mighty Diamonds, Joy Mack, Paulette Tajah, Kofi, Michael Gordon, Black Slate, Kwest, Carroll Thompson, Dub Poet Mutabaruka, amongst others.
KELE LE ROC
Kelly Biggs aka Kele Le Roc was born in Hackney, East London. Her mother designed clothes whilst her father was a dancer and model. It was obvious from an early age that Kele had a  penchant for all things musical. “My earliest memory was when I was about 5; I watched a musical of the Nicholas Brothers Tap Dancing on the telly and I tried to copy them. From that day my mother decided to send me to dance school. I loved dancing and had dreams of one day performing in the West End and on Broadway. Singing obviously went hand in hand with this but, at the age of 12, I suffered a bad knee injury and it propelled me into focusing on my singing”. The first song Kele recorded was a cover of Rose Royce’s ‘It’s Over’, although it wasn’t long before she wrote and recorded her own material. She found a musical home with production team ‘Best Kept Secret’ who understood her musically and knew where she wanted to go with her sound. This was where she got the moniker ‘Le Roc’.
“My engineer Digital named me Le Roc. It was kinda after the Prince song ‘Rock Hard In A Funky Place’, whenever I sang he’d say ‘you rock hard’.... so when the time came for a stage name Le Roc seemed quite apt. There was no Mr Biggs or Biggie Smalls yet so Kelly Biggs just didn’t sound right at the time”. The sound they created together led to the underground hit ‘Let Me Know’ and got the attention of major labels. At the time, 16-year-old Kele was on tour supporting US artists like Total, Horace Brown and Mona Lisa whilst studying Performing Arts at College. First Ave and Sony Records in Chicago were the main contenders. Sony Records in London had referred her as they felt her American sound and look would be more suited to that market. Kele didn’t go to Chicago but pressed on with her career with First Ave whom she signed to in 1996 and licensed to Polydor Records in 1997. She recorded her debut album ‘Everybody’s Somebody’ working with the likes of Rhett Lawrence and Harvey Mason Jr. Coolio and the late, great Roger Troutman also featured on this set. In 1999, Kele landed two top ten singles and the accolades rolled in including two MOBOs for Best Single (My Love) and Best Newcomer.
“London is very contrived especially for Black music. If they can’t put you in a box and tick it, they don’t know what to do with you. I wanted to make American sounding R&B but I’m also a big Prince fan and love his uniqueness so my style is a little eccentric. First Ave didn’t get me but wouldn’t let me leave as they knew I was a star and so basically just left me on a shelf”. However, Kele explored other music genres and found solace working with other talented artists such as Courtney Pine, Omar, Estelle, Lemar, Shola Ama, Asher D, Don-E, ShyFX, Roni Size, Damage and in 2001, released the global smash ‘Romeo’ with Basement Jaxx. “It’s ridiculous but, a few people were up in arms about me singing different genres! As far as I’m concerned, God gave me a voice to sing, he didn’t give me limitations. I’m a Soul singer, I love all types of music so, I sing from my soul. Ironically enough, the Garage remix of ‘My Love’ is my biggest hit to date and is still regularly requested. I always joke that the song pays my bills”!
When Kele finally negotiated herself out of her deal in 2002, she had the challenging task of doing her own A&R. She decided to add a few more strings to her bow and branched out into  presenting and acting. Her skilful dance moves had a cult following on the Channel 4 show ‘Bustamove’ and she also starred in MTV’s ‘Dubplate Drama’ and in indie films like ‘Rewind’. She was a residential Showbiz Presenter on INC TV and ‘lived’ her original dream of starring in Musicals when she toured the world as a principal in the Spirit produced ‘I Can’t Stop Loving You: The Life of Ray Charles’. She ran and designed her own female club wear clothing line ‘Funkin Bytch’ and jewellery line ‘KLR Bling’! These were all natural progressions for Ms Le Roc.
In May 2008, Kele was selected amongst eight other musically talented young individuals to go to Mali, West Africa to work on the music project ‘Routes To Roots’. The project was a unique platform to connect artists from England and Africa to create an album, educational book for schools and a documentary series, later screened on MTV. Such experiences allowed Kele to grow in many ways. She was once told ‘you don’t have to live the lesson to learn it’ and whilst she appreciates that, she wouldn’t change a thing in her life, good or bad as it has taken her to where she is right now, a place where she is extremely happy. “I am so blessed, it took a while but, I’m happy with the people I’m creating my music with. I love my family especially my mum who is my hero. I have wonderful friends and fans who are eagerly anticipating my new album penned by Le Roc Music. Although my first album did well, I never felt like it was a true interpretation of the real me as I wasn’t allowed to be the real me. This time around, it’s all about keeping it real and is genuinely from my heart”.
WAYNE MARSHALL
The UK’s Multi-Skilled Artisan
Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson, Babyface, Soul II Soul and Bob Marley are among the varied influences of British born Wayne Stephen Marshall and as such, his music reflects his eclectic tastes which straddle R&B, Hip-hop, Jazz and Reggae. Wayne checked in on the UK’s music scene in 1995 with his debut album ‘90 Degrees & Rising’ which remained #1 in the  Music Charts for a total of 11 weeks. The massive single ‘G Spot’ took the UK’s Soul scene by storm – it dented the national charts, blew away the Street Charts and swiftly became a ‘ladies’ anthem’.
Following the success of his first album, he wasted no time in releasing his sophomore set ‘Censored’ later that year and by popular demand, the name Wayne Marshall become a household one. Again, the dimes kept him atop the Street Charts and he also garnered another top 40 national UK chart hit for the track ‘Spirit’ with ‘Slow Grind’ mastering the underground scene. The duet with Pauline Henry titled ‘Never Knew Love Like This’ also landed Wayne a place in the national charts and he could do no wrong on the dance-floors. His popularity offered up unique opportunities to headline on concerts with the likes of international acts R Kelly, Jodeci and The Jones Girls.
At the end of 1995, Wayne became the first British R&B artist to be honoured with four Black Music Awards for Best Album, Best Male Artist, Best Single and Best Newcomer. In the media, he appeared on the covers of newspapers such as The Sunday Times, The Sun, The Caribbean Times and The Voice, a novelty for UK R&B acts in those days. He went on to work with producers such as Handel Tucker and co-wrote the massive General Levy single ‘Shake What Your Mama Gave Ya’. His multi-talents later led him to write, produce and record his own material. Hence Wayne spent the last few years recording, mixing and mastering his current album ‘Riddim, Soul & Blues’ which, so far, he has performed to audiences in Jamaica, Bulgaria and the UK. His love for music has enabled him to fulfil his dreams and he has set up his own record label, ‘Yardblues’ so that he may continue to inspire, entertain and educate others in the musical art-form.
 MORE PROFILES COMING SOON...
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