Young band Musical Youth was formed in Birmingham. It was made up of two sets
of brothers who all attended the same school, Kelvin and Michael
Grant and Junior and Patrick Waite. Even though they were school
boys, they were able to secure gigs in pubs in Birmingham.
Frederick Waite, father of Junior and Patrick, was a former member
of the Jamaican group The
Techniques got the band together. He originally sang lead with
Junior but was later replaced by Dennis Seaton.
An appearance on John Peel's evening show brought more attention
to the group. Their huge hit Pass The Dutchie was one of the fastest
selling singles of the year and stayed at number 1 for three weeks.
It was based on a Mighty
Diamonds song Pass the Kutchie but since kutchie means marijuana
it was thought best to change it slightly to 'dutchie' which, less
dangerously, means cooking pot!
