Wingless Angels (band)

Wingless Angels are a Jamaican Rastafari reggae group led by Justin Hinds, best known for their self-titled album executive produced by Keith Richards and issued on his Mindless Records imprint.

Wingless Angels
OriginSteertown, Jamaica
GenresReggae
Years active
  • 1990s
  • 2000s
  • 2010s
LabelsMindless Records, LLC
Past membersJustin Hinds
Winston "Black Skull" Thomas
Milton "Bongo Neville" Beckerd
"Bongo" Locksey Whitlock
Warrin Williamson
Maureen Fremantle
Vincent "Jackie" Ellis
Bongo Jackie

History

Veteran reggae musician Justin Hinds had by the 1990s moved back to live in his rural home town of Steertown near Ocho Rios where he led a group of nyabinghi musicians, including Winston "Black Skull" Thomas (who had previously worked with Talking Heads and Bad Brains),[1] Milton "Bongo Neville" Beckerd, "Bongo" Locksey Whitlock, Warrin Williamson, Maureen Fremantle (aka Sister Maureen), Vincent "Jackie" Ellis, and Bongo Jackie (aka Iron Lion). Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards had bought a home in Ocho Rios in the mid-1970s and befriended Hinds.[2][3] Richards and producer Rob Fraboni recorded the group one evening in 1995 playing in his own living room, shortly after the death of Bongo Jackie, and with overdubs added by himself, Blondie Chaplin, and Irish violinist Frankie Gavin, he released the recordings as an album on his own Mindless Records imprint (via Island Records) in 1997, dubbing the group "Wingless Angels".[2]

The album was reissued on keithrichards.com in 2003 and by Polygram in 2008.[4]

According to a news release on winglessangels.com in June 2010, new recordings made shortly before the death of Justin Hinds will be issued in September 2010 on Mindless Records. Wingless Angels II, the last known recording of Justin Hinds, is now available.

Discography
  • Wingless Angels (October 1997), Mindless/Island Jamaica
  • Wingless Angels II (23 September 2010), Mindless Records
  • Wingless Angels Deluxe Edition (23 September 2010), Mindless Records

References
  1. Larkin, Colin (1998) The Virgin Encyclopedia of Reggae, Virgin Books, ISBN 0-7535-0242-9, p. 319-320
  2. Leggett, Steve "Wingless Angels Biography", Allmusic, Macrovision Corporation, retrieved 29 November 2009
  3. "Keith Richards To Release Roots Reggae Album", MTV, 23 October 1997, retrieved 29 November 2009
  4. Munro, Eden (2008) "Old Sounds - Wingless Angels", Vue Weekly, 7 August 2008, retrieved 29 November 2009
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