Formed in Jamaica by Garth Dennis, Derrick 'Ducky' Simpson and Don McCarlos in the early 70s, Black Uhuru first recorded a version of Curtis Mayfield 's 'Romancing To The Folk Song' for Dynamic's Top Cat label as Uhuru (the Swahili word for 'Freedom'), which met with limited success.

Errol Nelson, from the Jayes, was used for harmonies. This line-up sang on an album for Prince Jammy in 1977 entitled Love Crisis, later reissued and retitled Black Sounds Of Freedom , after the group had found success. Nelson returned to the Jayes soon afterwards and Puma Jones (b. Sandra Jones, 5 October 1953, Columbia, South Carolina, USA, d. 28 January 1990, New York) took over.

Formerly a social worker, she had worked with Ras Michael And The Sons Of Negus as a dancer in a bid to retrace her African ancestry via Jamaica. This combination began work for Sly Dunbar and Robbie Shakespeare 's Taxi label in 1980, and Black Uhuru mania gripped the Jamaican reggae audience.

The solid bedrock of Sly And Robbie 's rhythms with Puma and Duckie's eerie harmonies provided a perfect counterpoint to Rose's tortured vocals as his songs wove tales of the hardships of Jamaican life which managed to convey a far wider relevance.

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Their first album for Taxi, Showcase, later reissued as Vital Selection, gave equal prominence to the vocal and instrumental versions of songs such as 'General Penitentiary', 'Shine Eye Gal' and 'Abortion', and was a massive reggae seller. Island Records signed the group and they became a hot property throughout the musical world over the next few years.

Their albums for Mango/Island continued in the same militant vein, and Anthem was remixed for the American market and earned a Grammy for the band. They toured all over the globe with the powerhouse rhythm section of Sly And Robbie in addition to a full complement of top Jamaican session musicians.

For a time they were widely touted as the only reggae band with the potential to achieve international superstar status, but, although their popularity never waned after their initial breakthrough, it sadly never seemed to grow either.

Michael Rose left the band in the mid-80s for a solo career which has always promised more than it has delivered, although his 1990 album Proud was very strong.?Junior Reid took over on lead vocals but, in retrospect, his approach was too deeply rooted in the Jamaican dancehalls at the time for Black Uhuru's international approach, and after a couple of moderately well-received albums he too left for a solo career, which to date has been remarkably successful.

For now Don Carlos returned to his former position as lead singer, reuniting the original triumvirate of Carlos, Duckie Simpson and Garth Dennis, and the group still tour and release records, which are particularly popular in America. Tragically, Puma Jones died of cancer in 1990. She had left the band after Brutal, and been replaced by sound-alike Olafunke.

Black Uhuru will always remain one of the great reggae acts despite the fact that the international status that they deserved proved elusive.