Steely & Clevie was a Jamaican dancehall reggae production duo that was composed of members Wycliffe Johnson and Cleveland Browne. The duo worked with artists such as the Specials, Gregory Peck ("Poco Man Jam," 1990), Bounty Killer, Elephant Man, and No Doubt.
Steely debuted as a keyboardist with Sugar Minott's Youth Promotion collective in the 1970s, playing the keyboards on Minott's 1978 album, Ghetto-ology. Clevie pioneered the use of drum machines in reggae. Steely and Clevie first played together at Lee "Scratch" Perry's Black Ark Studios during the late 1970s. In 1986, the duo was the house band at King Jammy's Studio, which became the center point of late-1980s reggae, by which time Steely & Clevie were established production leaders with an immense slew of 12-inch and dub singles. The duo formed the Steely & Clevie label in 1987, a year in which reggae riddims and dub-influenced hip-hop production by Ced Gee and KRS-One in the Bronx became prominent.
In 1993, Steely and Clevie produced and co-wrote three tracks from Billy Ocean's eighth studio album Time to Move On, including the single "Pressure". In 1994, Steely and Clevie produced a new version of the 1967 track "You Don't Love Me (No No No)" by Dawn Penn for the album Steely and Clevie Play Studio One Vintage. The track was released as a single that same year and became a Billboard Hot 100 hit in the US.
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Links to Peel[]
Peel played many of Steely & Clevie's records between the late 80's and 90's on his radio programmes. He also played many artists that were signed to the duo's record label.
Shows Played[]
- 1989
- 07 August 1989: Taxi Riddim (Version) (shared 7" with Coco Tea - Flirty Flirty) Steely & Clevie
- 13 January 1991: Give It A Chance Version (b/w Sanchez - Give It A Chance) Digital B
- 26 May 1991: Why (Vocal Mix) (12") Profile
- 23 June 1991: Why (7") Profile
- 05 July 1991 (BFBS): Why (7") Profile
- 14 July 1991: Why (12") Profile
- 28 September 1991: African Beat (Version (b/w 7" by Admiral Tibett - Knowledge Increase) Digital-B
- 1997
- 27 April 1997: Over The Killamanjaro (album - In Dub) Cutting Edge
- 1999
- 21 April 1999: Broke Bottle Rhythm (split 7" with Goofy) Greensleeves
- 25 April 1999 (BFBS): 'Broke Bottle Rhythm (7")' (Greensleeves)
- 30 April 1999 (BBC World Service): Broke Bottle Rhythm (7") Greensleeves
- 06 May 1999 (Radio Eins): Broke Bottle Rhythm (split 7" with Goofy) Greensleeves