Artist News

Reggae artist and ‘Tide Is High’ songwriter John Holt dies

By | Published on Tuesday 21 October 2014

John Holt

Reggae man John Holt died last Sunday morning, aged 69, in a London hospital, his manager Copeland Forbes has confirmed.

Born in Kingston, Jamaica, in 1947, Holt joined ska band The Paragons in 1964, writing his first big hit in the now-iconic ‘The Tide Is High’, which rose to fame again when Blondie covered it in 1980.

Having quit the Paragons in 1970, a solo Holt released another significant track, ‘Stick By Me’, in 1972, which became the highest-selling reggae single of that year. Hailed as an originator of so-named ‘lovers rock’ for his smooth, slow-paced ballads, Holt released a stream of solo LPs spanning the 1970s and 1980s, most recently ‘Peacemaker’ in 1993.

A cause of death is yet to be confirmed, though it’s known that Holt’s health had been poor since he collapsed on stage in the middle of a show last August.

On hearing of the sad news, reggae label Trojan Records – which released a chain of his records in the 1970s – posted a note to Facebook honouring Holt as “a huge talent and a true gentleman”, adding: “He will be missed by his all those who had the pleasure of knowing him, personally or through his wonderful music”.



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