Abyssinians

Gigs at Uppsala Reggae Festival:

Year	Speldag	Speltid	Scen	Gallery
2010	Friday	20:30 - 21:30	Main Stage	Inga bilder

Originally formed in 1968 by Bernard Collins and Donald Manning. Their hit "Satta Massagana" was first recorded for producer Clement "Coxsone" Dodd in March 1969, but he decided against releasing it, seeing no commercial potential for the tune. In 1971, the group purchased the master tapes from Dodd for 90 pounds and released it on their own Clinch label.

The group continued to record throughout the 1970s and their debut album, Forward on to Zion was produced by Clive Hunt and released in 1976. The follow-up, Arise (1978) was recorded under stressful conditions with internal rivalries threatening to break up the group, and after the album's release, Collins left the band, to be eventually replaced by Carlton Manning. This line-up performed at the 1979 Reggae Sunsplash festival, but split up the following year.

The original line-up reunited in 1998 and went on to record new material, including the singles "African Princess" and "Swing Low" and the album Reunion.

In 2004, Donald Manning & Bernard Collins reunited on stage for the first time in over ten years along with singer David Morrison.

Receive our newsletter: