Andre Jebbinson, Staff Reporter
U.K. techno group Mint Royale (from left),: Class A, Neil Claxton, Fola and Steven, has made a hit of Prince Buster's Sexiest Man in Jamaica. - CONTRIBUTED
WHAT IS the likelihood of being in the club grooving to the rhythm of electronic music with a Jamaican theme? Chances are most party fans are yet to experience it, but one unexpected fellow did.
According to reports, Prince William of the United Kingdom went 'bananas' when he first heard the lyrics of Sexiest Man in Jamaica, a song released by the British techno-music group, Mint Royale.
"We think it is funny. When the album first came out, our label had a call from Buckingham Palace asking for a copy of the album. They thought it was a joke and so they told them to go to their nearest record shop, but now I think it may have been genuine," said Neil Claxton, group leader.
The track came about after the group members saw Prince Buster's spontaneous introduction of a selector track on a live ska compilation album and sampled it. Prince Buster and his band had an appointment in Japan but flew on separate planes for the occasion. Alas, the other band member did not turn up and left Prince Buster in a pickle. The promoter was terrified that if Prince (Buster) did not show there would be a riot, so Prince came on to introduce the selector. The lyrics for the Sexiest Man In Jamaica were sung during Prince Buster's introduction.
"We already had an instrumental house track with a deep dubby bass line so the vocal seemed ideal to put over the top of it," Claxton said. "It was really great that Prince liked the track, and even did some TV appearances with us."
Sexiest Man In Jamaica featured on the Mint Royale album, Dancehall Places. Since then they have released their third album, See You In The Morning.
NEVER BEEN TO JAMAICA
Claxton said he has never been to Jamaica but would like to visit. His knowledge about reggae and reggae artistes is limited only to Prince Buster and rhythm masters, Sly and Robbie.
Sexiest Man in Jamaica is now a popular ring tone and is being dubbed as a 'club summer anthem'. The single, which was released in August 2002, became Mint Royale's second U.K. Top 20 single.
Without giving a figure, Claxton confirmed that Prince Buster collects royalties from the track. He, however, did not hold back on his feelings about 'the sexiest man in Jamaica'. "He was a genuinely nice guy, very interested in what we had done with his vocals and the whole process, and very keen to help the track succeed," Claxton said.
