Do reggae entertainers Chaka Demus & Pliers still have crowd pulling power? Time to find out, as they start a tour here…

Jamaica’s reggae stars Chaka Demus and Pliers have announced they are to tour the UK for the first time in over ten years during July and August 2018.

The tour also marks the 25th anniversary since Chaka Demus & Pliers exploded onto the UK chart scene in 1993, when the duo scored six UK top 40 hits in just fourteen months, including ‘Tease Me’, ‘Murder She Wrote’, ‘She Don’t Let Nobody’ and their Number 1 hit cover of The Top Notes’ ‘Twist and Shout’.

When Chaka Demus and Pliers teamed-up in 1991 they were already established musicians with successful solo careers. What followed was an extremely prolific period, with the pair releasing no fewer than three albums in 1992 (‘Gal Wine Wine Wine’, ‘Bad Mind’ and ‘Ruff This Year’) and performing at Reggae Sunsplash in the same year.

International success followed for the duo, with their 1993 single ‘Tease Me’ reaching No.3 during a three month stay on the UK chart, and their album of the same name also reaching No. 1, selling over 500,000 and certified gold in the process.

When their single ‘Twist and Shout’ reached No.1 on the 2nd January 1994, Chaka Demus & Pliers became the first Jamaican act to top the UK single charts in eight years, and the first to have three consecutive Top Five hits.

With a new single called ‘California One Night Stand’ due for release on Friday 13th July 2018 on VPAL Records and a new album in the pipeline, Chaka Demus said, “Coming to the UK for this tour is very special for us, as the UK is where we had our first hits outside of Jamaica. We still have a lot of new tunes to bring our UK fans, along with all our hits. We feel that this tour is truly the return of Chaka Demus and Pliers.”

The nine-date tour starts at the Wardrobe in Leeds on Wednesday 25th July 2018 and ends on Sunday 5th August 2018 at Concorde 2 in Brighton.

Opening for all of Chaka Demus & Pliers UK tour dates will be one of the UK’s most hotly-tipped reggae artists, Captain Accident.

Pete Sargeant