Max Romeo

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Max Romeo was born Maxie Smith in a lttle town in St Dacre, in the parish of St Ann's, in the north of Jamaica. From an early age, Maxie was blessed with the gift of music, and it surprised no-one when little Maxie grew to become the internationally-famous Reggae star Max Romeo. At the age of 14, Young Maxie ran away from home, and drifted around for some time before getting involved in the music business. His first job was not exactly the stuff of dreams - cleaning out irrigation ditches on a sugar plantation. But life sometimes throws up new opportunities, and in 1965, Max was advised by his Mentor, a Mr Denham to enter a talent contest in the district of Clarendon.

His success spurred him into leaving for the city, and Max set out on the road to Kingston in search of stardom. In 1967, at the tail-end of the Ska era Max cut his first record. On I'LL BUY YOU A RAINBOW for the Caltone label, he featured as lead singer of a group called The Emotions. The other members were Lloyd Shakespeare (brother of Robbie) and Kenneth Knight. The single made #2 on the Jamaican charts and placed Max firmly on the map. Before long, Maxie hooked up with another producer, Bunny "Striker" Lee, who was experimenting with a new sound he called "Reggae."

Max recalled: "he kind of invigorated me to go solo. And I went solo, and Bunny Lee came up with the name Max Romeo." In fact, "Romeo" was a nickname Max already had. At 8 o'clock one morning, He was chatting to a girl outside her house when her father came out to go to work. "He came back home at 5," says Max. "I was standing in the same position, at the same post!" The guy decided Max was a bit of a "Romeo" - and the name stuck. It was of course at this time that Max cut his most famous, and infamous single - WET DREAM.

Was it Max the "Romeo", showing his true feelings? Far from it - in fact, Max didn't want to record it at all. "I was forced to do that song by Bunny Lee. I was actually threatened, if you don't do that song you can't stay around me!" The risqué lyrics were cut over a Derrick Morgan rhythm track, and in the process, Max unknowingly cut himself a major hit. WET DREAM was released in England on the Unity label, and astounded everyone - including Maxie - by storming up the pop charts to #2. The song's suggestive lyrics ensured it had no radio exposure, but deejays in the discotheques and dance halls played it constantly. On the strength of the hit, Max toured the UK and Europe, and cut his first album, A DREAM.