Finley Quaye

Biography

Finley Quaye (born 25 March 1974, Edinburgh, Scotland) is a Scottish musician. He won the 1997 Mobo Award for best reggae act, and the 1998 BRIT Award for Best Male Solo Artist. His debut album, Maverick a Strike×Maverick a Strike4 November 1997 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube MusicTracklist · 13 tracks1Ultra Stimulation3:532It's Great When We're Together3:403Sunday Shining3:434Even After All3:565Ride on and Turn the People On3:496The Way of the Explosive4:447Your Love Gets Sweeter3:138Supreme I Preme5:009Sweet and Loving Man3:2310Red Rolled and Seen4:0911Falling3:1912I Need a Lover4:0513Maverick a Strike5:00, a fusion of many styles including reggae and soul, was a commercial success and was certified double platinum by the British Phonographic Industry.

Life

Finley Quaye is the son of vaudeville pianist Cab Kaye and the half-brother of the English guitarist Caleb Quaye.
Born in Edinburgh, Quaye went to school in London, Manchester and Edinburgh. However, he left school with no qualifications. Before launching his music career, he took various forms of employment including car-spraying, fish-smoking, making futons and as a stage-rigger and scaffolder.
Quaye's father was born in London but considered himself as African. Although known as Cab Kaye, his full name was Nii Lante Augustus Kwamlah Quaye and he was a Chief of the Ga tribe centralized in Jamestown, Accra, Ghana. Kaye was the son of the pianist Caleb Jonas Quaye a.k.a. Mope Desmond, who was born in Accra, Ghana. Finley did not grow up with his father and only found out fully about his father's musical career when he was in his twenties. Mope Desmond, Cab Kaye and Finley Quaye have all played Glasgow's Barrowlands, Wolverhampton's Wulfrun Hall and London's Cafe de Paris. Finley was on tour with his band when he met his father for the first time in Amsterdam.
Finley Quaye was inspired early in his childhood by jazz musicians Pete King, Ronnie Scott (who began his own musical career making tea and running errands in Finley's father's band) and Lionel Hampton. As a child growing up in London, Quaye would be taken by his mother to Ronnie Scott's jazz club in Soho to catch performances of American musicians touring Europe. These included Buddy Rich, who recorded his album in 1980 and Ella Fitzgerald. Quaye's mother had a long-term relationship with musician Pete King, who hosted and performed at Ronnie Scott's. Around this time, Finley was also taken along to see the likes of The Ramones. In Edinburgh, shows that made an impact in his early years included Frank Chickens at The Hole in the Ground during the Fringe Festival. He also saw Peter Green of Fleetwood Mac at The Venue with Cozy Powell on drums around 1990. Art was also a constant influence and source of inspiration on Quaye's mindset and artistic approach. He attended The Frieze ART Fair at Regent's Park as well as Gilbert & George and Harlan Miller exhibitions and opening nights. He presented awards at The Indian Film Awards at The O2 Arena in London as well as David Gray's Ivor Novello at The Dorchester Hotel in London.
The younger of Finley's two sons, Caleb Quaye, took his own life in 2023.

Career

Quaye made a solo recording contract with Polydor Records and moved to New York City. He began working with Epic/Sony unlawfully while he was still signed to Polydor, and in late 1997 he reached the UK Top 20 twice, with "Sunday Shining×Sunday Shining2 June 1997 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 4 tracksA1Sunday Shining3:43A2Sunday Best3:31B1Lover a Need I (Sony Walkman mix)3:59B2Singing From The Same Hymn Sheet6:05" and "Even After All×Even After All1 September 1997 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 4 tracks1Even After All3:572Even After All (Studio 2000 mix)4:333Burning Dub2:394Even After All (acoustic)3:08". His reputation was established by Maverick a Strike, released in September 1997. It went gold less than three weeks later, and led directly to the BRIT Award victory. The album is now certified 2× platinum in the UK. In 1998, Quaye recorded and produced George Gershwin's "It Ain't Necessarily So" for the Red Hot Organization's compilation album Red Hot + Rhapsody, a tribute to George Gershwin, which raised money for various charities devoted to increasing AIDS awareness.
Two more albums were released on Epic, Vanguard×Vanguard2000 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 12 tracks1Broadcast2:532Spiritualized3:373The Emperor3:264Burning2:465Everybody Knows4:066Feeling Blue4:247When I Burn Off Into the Distance2:548Chad Valley3:259Calendar2:5910British Air Rage3:0411White Paper4:3812Hey Now4:18 (2000) and Much More Than Much Love×Much More Than Much Love2003 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 13 tracks1Something to Say3:362Beautiful Nature3:273Dice4:154Waiting for You4:165Lovers Return2:476Face to Face3:057Overriding Volunteer4:308Living Without You3:459Now and Forever3:5610This Is How I Feel3:2411Pearls of Wisdom3:2512Adorable4:0013Overcome4:01 (2004). "Spiritualized×Spiritualized2000 · EPSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 3 tracksASpiritualized (Vibin' vocal mix)9:04B1Spiritualized (FK dub)11:00B2Spiritualized3:36" became his last single to score a top 40 landing in the UK chart when it was released in September 2000, reaching number 26. In 2004 the single "Dice" was released in collaboration with William Orbit and featuring Beth Orton. The song featured in Fox Network's The OC and on the season 1 soundtrack, becoming a minor hit.
He released the EP Pound for Pound×Pound for Pound20 February 2009 · EPSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 4 tracks1For My Childrens Love2:492Royal Rasses3:493Street People3:494I Need You2:56 with Intune Records in 2008, with Norman Grant of the Twinkle Brothers featuring Sly Dunbar and Lloyd Parks.
Three albums were made between 2019 and 2023 but also removed from distribution and outlets because of lack of recognition, interest or support in the United kingdom in terms of live agents, labels and publishers. This was the sole reason for the removal of the material.

Compilations

The Best of the Epic Years 1995-2003 (2008)

Extended plays

Oranges and Lemons (2005)
Pound For Pound (2008)

Other collaborations

"Finley's Rainbow" on A Guy Called Gerald's Black Secret Technology (1995)
"Caravan" on Timo Maas' album Loud (2002)
"Stranges Changes" on A Guy Called Gerald's To All Things What They Need (2005)
"We Are Dreamers" on Cathy Claret's album Gypsy Flower (2007)
"After Tonight" on Ava Leigh's La La La (2007)
"Metamorphosis" on Christopher Chaplin's album M (2020)