Barry Biggs ~ Wide Awake In A Dream (c.c.)

Barrington `Barry' Biggs was born in St. Andrews, Jamaica on 31st December 1946 (although being born on New Years Eve some biogs say 1947). From 1961, he spent four years studying in the UK before joining his mother in the USA. In the latter half of the sixties, he returned to Jamaica, where he utilised his singing talents, working as a backing singer for Clement ‘Coxson’ Dodd at Studio One, and later with Duke Reid at the producer’s famed Treasure Isle studio in Bond Street.
Inspired by his experience in the studios, he successfully applied to work at the Jamaican Broadcasting Corporation where he began an apprenticeship as an engineer. In 1969 he recorded his debut, a version of Stevie Wonder’s ‘My Cherie Amour’ for local producer, Harry Johnson. The record was favourably received and while hardly setting the charts alight, it did mark a promising beginning.
A year later, Barry left J.B.C. to concentrate on singing with Derrick Harriott before joining the Astronauts, a local group who went on to win the Jamaican Song Festival in 1979 and again in 1994. Barry worked with the group prior to their festival successes.
His version of ‘One Bad Apple’ gave him his first Jamaican chart hit. Recorded with Byron Lee and the Dragonaires. The song was lifted from the group’s album, ‘Reggay Splash Down,’ that Barry claimed was released to ‘spotlight’ his vocals. While at Dynamics, he also worked as a producer and engineer and as his career progressed, his credibility was assured when he produced a series of hits such as Jah Ruby‘s ‘Kunta Kinte The Dread’ and the Slickers hit, ‘The Time Has Come’. He also introduced Barrington Levy to the reggae arena when he produced the singers debut, ‘We Don’t Have No Love’.
Barry’s international breakthrough ‘Work All Day (Play All Night)’ peaked at 38 in the UK pop chart and introduced the singer to a new audience. He subsequently almost topped the Pop chart with his version of Blue Magic‘s ‘Sideshow’, which hit the Number 3 spot in December 1976.
His follow up was the ballad ‘You Are My Life’, which although did not fare quite so well as his previous release, was still a commercial success, climbing to 36 in the British national chart. Barry maintained his mainstream profile with hits such as a version of another Blue Magic hit, ‘Three Ring Circus’ that reached Number 22 in 1977, followed by an inspiring cover of ‘What’s Your Sign Girl’ that achieved a 55 placing in 1979. Two years later he returned in fine style with our featured track, `Wide Awake In A Dream,' which also charted peaking at 44 in June of that year.
He continues recording and performing having maintained his profile through to the present as he approaches his eighth decade.
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He then released the sadly overlooked cover version of the Temptations’ ‘Just My Imagination’ and the Moonglows’ Doo Wop favourite, ‘Sincerely’ that upheld his reputation as a ‘Mr Do-Over Man’.
By 1980, Barry was back with a vengeance with the lush ‘Wide Awake In A Dream’, his final UK pop hit to date that reached 44 the following year. His version of the song restored his street credibility among British reggae fans, many of whom now followed ‘Lovers Rock’.
In 1981 Barry was recruited by Jimmy Cliff to provide backing vocals for his album, ‘Give The People What They Want’ before he returned to the studios in his own right and did just that when he recorded the chart-topping ‘A Promise Is A Comfort To A Fool’. Two years on, he joined forces with Ruddy Thomas on the wonderful ‘Reflections Of My Life’. The disc sold heavily in Holland, peaking at number 25 in the national listings and its follow-up, the self-produced ‘Love Come Down’ (featured on the ‘Coming Down With Love’ album) fared even better, climbing to the number five position in the Dutch Pop charts in the summer of 1983.
Although Barry subsequently remained musically active, he eased off from recording substantially, with the finely crafted ‘Conversation’ from 1985 among his few singles from the period. Among his occasional releases in the years that followed were the album, ‘So In Love’, issued on the Starlight label that, due to public demand, also issued a reworked version of his 1981 hit, ‘Wide Awake In A Dream’.
DISCLAIMER!!!
I Do Not Own Song/Songs In This Video, They Belong To Its Respective Owners. Please Support The Artist/Artists By Purchasing Their Album/Songs.
THIS VIDEO IS FOR PROMOTIONAL PURPOSES ONLY, NO COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT INTENDED