THE INVESTIGATORS BIOGRAFIA

The Investigators were based in Battersea, south London, England, as a lovers rock band formed in 1975. The line-up included Lorenzo Hall (lead vocals), Michael Gordon (lead vocals), Ian Austin (bass guitar), Reg Graham (keyboards) and Martin Christie (percussion); the remaining instrumentalists were session players. The group were no strangers to the UK reggae scene, having performed as the Private I’s, working alongside Chris Lane of Fashion Records. As the Private I’s they recorded Otis Gayle’s Studio One classic, ‘I’ll Be Around’, although it was the b-side, ‘Love Won’t Let Me Wait’, that secured a placing in the reggae chart, along with a version of Black Uhuru’s ‘Folk Song’. The band recorded numerous melodies including ‘Living In A World Of Magic’, ‘What Love Has Done’ and ‘Loving Feeling’ on their Private Eye label, ‘Love Is What You Make It, and the seductive ‘Turn Out The Lights’. For Inner City they recorded their number 1 reggae hit, ‘Baby I’m Yours’, followed by ‘Summertime Blues’ and ‘Close To You’. The line-up was also responsible for providing the foundation to Dee Sharp’s debut, ‘Let’s Dub It Up’, which topped the reggae chart in 1980, closely followed by ‘It’s Too Late Baby’. The releases did much to acquaint reggae followers with the newly formed Fashion label. In 1981 the group toured the UK and USA supporting Black Uhuru, but to little acclaim. In 1984 the band gained recognition with ‘Woman I Need Your Loving’. They continued to maintain a high profile releasing lovers hits, and in 1985 they performed as the opening act at the second Reggae Sunsplash festival in the UK. The showcase was a prelude to the European leg of the Sunsplash world tour, which has since flourished, although not in the UK. Following the demise of the Investigators, both Lorenzo Hall and Michael Gordon have pursued successful solo careers, Gordon having a notable chart hit with ‘Don’t Want No More’, while Hall