Alton Ellis
Road To Slavery

In the words of Chris Lane from the Fashion Records...

"We recorded and produced many of reggae's most iconic artists for Fashion Records, but having a legend of ska, rock steady and reggae - and my all-time favourite singer! - in the studio was always an unforgettable experience. Although we concentrated on building our roster with local UK artists we were only too happy to take any opportunity to record Jamaican singers and deejays when we could, so of course Alton was a prime contender, especially as he was living in London when we first recorded him in 1981. We were eager to record him again fifteen years later, but although we built seven or eight rhythms not all of them were voiced, and unfortunately our plan of producing a whole album with Alton fell through. Road To Slavery was a brand new song written by Alton especially for the proposed album with Fashion Records, and is one of the few tunes that he recorded a proper vocal for. It's the first time it has seen the light of day since it was voiced on the 28th March 1996 - as far as I can recall we've never even given it to anyone as a dub plate and we are delighted that it is finally being pressed up as a 45. It's good to know that the legacy of Jamaica's finest singer will live on .... RIP Alton Ellis."