Trevor Taylor (singer)

Trevor Oliver Taylor (11 January 1958 – 19 January 2008)[1] was a Jamaican-German singer, musician, music producer, and songwriter. His adopted in later years stage name was Supa T. He is, however, best known as the original lead singer of the German band Bad Boys Blue.

Trevor Taylor
Historical photo of Trevor Taylor
Background information
Birth nameTrevor Oliver Taylor
Also known asSupa T
Born(1958-01-11)11 January 1958
Montego Bay, Jamaica
Died19 January 2008(2008-01-19) (aged 50)
Cologne, Germany
GenresEuro disco, reggae, Eurodance
Occupation(s)Musician, singer, songwriter, composer
InstrumentsVocal, bass guitar
Years active1984—2008
LabelsCoconut Records, Mercury Records, Simple Things Records
Associated actsBad Boys Blue, UB40, Umoya, Temper Temper, The Party Animals, Mondo Club

Early years

Trevor Taylor was born in 1958 in Montego Bay, Jamaica. At the age of 14, Taylor visited England for the first time. Besides music, young Trevor was interested in cooking, power lifting, and football. Trevor was a true rastaman, and his idol was Bob Marley. At the beginning of his career, Trevor played bass guitar in the British reggae band UB40 and also was a singer in little-known groups in Seychelles. In 1978, Trevor worked as a chef in a restaurant "Holiday Inn" in Birmingham, and then in Cologne restaurant "Stummel".[2]

Bad Boys Blue

In 1984, Trevor Taylor joined the new group Bad Boys Blue where he was selected as the lead vocalist. He sang the leads on the 1985 hit song "You're A Woman". It was a real success for the band and it instantly reached Top 10 in many European music charts. In Germany, the single peaked at No. 8 and it did not leave the German Top 20 for four months. The same year, Bad Boys Blue released their first studio album, Hot Girls, Bad Boys, on which Trevor Taylor sang on all songs (except "L.O.V.E. In My Car"), just as he did on the band's second album, Heartbeat, which was released in 1986.

In 1987, while recording the single "Come Back And Stay", producers Tony Hendrik and Karin van Haaren decided to change the lead singer, and to subsequently make John McInerney the new front-man. These changes, in turn, created tension within the group which ultimately led to Trevor Taylor's departure, who understandably did not wish to accept his new sidelined role. A noteworthy fact is that Trevor Taylor did not leave the group right away following the switch, and stayed with the group for a whole year, during which he was incrementally phased out from his position of the front-man. During that transitional period his participation as the lead singer dropped first to 60% and then to 20% of songs sung on the 3rd and the 4th albums, respectively. That move was not incidental, for it was a key strategy implemented by the producers to ensure survivability and continuity of their project, that is to make sure in the public eye that both Taylor and McInerney were still present in the group, only that their respective positions had been switched, where the fans were now expected to become accustomed to seeing Taylor appear in the shadow of McInerney. Only after McInerney appeared on enough of new tracks as lead singer, Taylor could finally leave the group. This move was made possible by contractual obligations established by the Bad Boys Blue producers which legally prevented Trevor Taylor from exiting the band prematurely (that is, not until the transition period was completed), and therefore the producers were guaranteed to have a smooth continuation of their project.

After leaving Bad Boys Blue

After leaving the group, Trevor tried to act in films and participated in various musical projects, from trance to reggae. In 1990, the reggae project Street Noise released the single "Our Problem", where Trevor Taylor was the leading vocalist. In 1991, Trevor was a member of the band Temper Temper as a guitarist. For several years Trevor was a producer and vocalist in the German reggae band Umoya, which released three albums and six singles.

Since 1995, under the pseudonym Supa T, Taylor began recording with the band The Party Animals, releasing singles "My Dog", "Gotta Jump", "Be True", and "Love and Respect". The latter was the hit of the year in Spain and held top positions in the Spanish charts for a long time.[3] All these compositions subsequently were featured in his first solo album, Reggae in the Pop House & Soul, released in 1998 by Vale Music.[4] That same year, Trevor participated in the recording of the single "Harddrummer" by Chocolate Milk.

He later recorded singles for Mondo Club: a cover version of "Don't Worry, Be Happy",[5] and "Sex Up My Life", which became the soundtrack for the television series "Heiße Tage – Wilde Nächte". In his later years, Trevor performed a lot with reggae groups Umoya and The Reggae Cracks. He also planned to release his second solo album, Second Life.

Trevor Taylor, aged 50, died of a heart attack at a hospital in Cologne. His second solo album is still officially unreleased.[6][7]

Discography

Singles
Year Name Performer/Group
1985 You're a Woman Bad Boys Blue
1985 Pretty Young Girl Bad Boys Blue
1986 Kisses and Tears (My One and Only) Bad Boys Blue
1986 Love Really Hurts Without You Bad Boys Blue
1986 I Wanna Hear Your Heartbeat >Sunday Girl< Bad Boys Blue
1987 Gimme Gimme Your Lovin' >Little Lady< Bad Boys Blue
1990 Our Problem Street Noise (feat. Trevor Taylor)
1992 Hey You Umoya
1993 Hey You (Club Remixes) Umoya
1993 The Children Umoya
1994 Hey See De Rastaman Umoya
1994 Hey See De Rastaman (Dance Remixes) Umoya
1994 Song For Ruanda Cologne Ruanda Project
1995 My Dog (Is Better Than Your Dog) Supa T and the Party Animals
1996 Love and Respect Supa T and the Party Animals
1997 Gotta Jump Supa T and the Party Animals
1998 Be True Supa T and the Party Animals
1998 Harddrummer (Drivin' Me Crazy) Chocolate Milk
2001 Ha Deng /Tribal Nation Avancada
2001 I Like to Move It Bang Gang
2001 Sex Up My Life (The Pussy Song) Mondo Club
2001 Don't Worry, Be Happy Mondo Club
2010 Ragga Ragga (digital release) Blunt Factory (feat. Trevor Taylor)

Albums
Year Name Performer/Group
1985 Hot Girls, Bad Boys Bad Boys Blue
1986 Heart Beat Bad Boys Blue
1987 Love Is No Crime Bad Boys Blue
1988 My Blue World Bad Boys Blue
1993 Overdue Umoya
1998 Reggae in the Pop House & Soul Supa T and the Party Animals
1999 Mixed Mode (promo) Umoya
2004 Two Decades Umoya
2006 Many Ways Kuebert
2007 Second Life (unreleased) Supa T and the Reggae Cracks

References
  1. Trevor Oliver Taylor
  2. BAD BOYS BLUE (Music Group)
  3. Salaverri, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
  4. Supa-T — Reggae In The Pop House & Soul
  5. Mondo Club – Don't Worry Be Happy
  6. Supa.T and the Reggae Cracks – Second Life (Unreleased) 2007
  7. Supa T & Reggae Cracks, The — Second Life
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