Bitty McLean
Bitty MacLean at Ruhr Reggae Summer 2014
Bitty MacLean at Ruhr Reggae Summer 2014
Background information
Birth nameDelroy Easton McLean
Born (1972-08-08) 8 August 1972
Birmingham, England
GenresReggae, lovers rock, ragga
Occupation(s)Singer
Instrument(s)Vocals
Years active1992–present
LabelsBrilliant Records, Kuff Records, Peckings Records, TAXI, TABOU1
Websitewww.taxitabou1.bandcamp.com

Delroy Easton "Bitty" McLean[1] (born 8 August 1972) is a British reggae, lovers' rock and ragga singer. He is best known for his three UK Top 10 hits in 1993 and 1994, including his debut offering "It Keeps Rainin' (Tears from My Eyes)".

Career

The youngest of six children to Easton and Leonie (née Reynolds), Delroy McLean was nicknamed "Bitty" due to his small stature.[2] As a teenager he performed with local sound systems, and after studying sound engineering at college, he was employed by UB40 as an engineer and producer, and occasionally also sang with the band.[1]

He was most popular around the mid-1990s with cover versions of songs including The Shirelles' "Dedicated to the One I Love" (UK No. 6[3]) and Fats Domino's "It Keeps Rainin' (Tears from My Eyes)" (1993), which was his biggest UK hit, peaking at No. 2.[3] McLean's song "It Keeps Rainin' (Tears from My Eyes)" topped the charts in New Zealand and the Netherlands in 1993. McLean also played on three UK arena tours supporting UB40, Wet Wet Wet and Simply Red respectively.[2]

In 2004, he released the album On Bond Street KGN. JA., which featured his vocals recorded over vintage Tommy McCook and Duke Reid-produced, Treasure Isle rhythms from the rocksteady era, most with new lyrics of his own, but also using David Ruffin's "Walk Away from Love" and David Gates' "Make It with You".[1] He recorded a studio album in 2007, entitled Movin' On, with Sly and Robbie at their One Pop studios in Kingston, Jamaica. Movin' On was released on the Taxi / Silent River / TABOU1 label in Europe and the US, while JVC released it in Japan. McLean and Sly & Robbie toured Japan, Europe and Morocco in 2008 and 2009. In 2013, McLean released a new album, The Taxi Sessions, with Sly & Robbie, and a live DVD recorded with Sly & Robbie and the Taxi Gang, during their concert in Paris in May 2009. Also in 2013, McLean joined The Lee Thompson Ska Orchestra on vocals, for a cover of Desmond Dekker's "Fu Man Chu" (a single release for the band). He also joined them on stage for several shows, appeared in the official video that accompanied the single and, in May 2013, joined them on Later... with Jools Holland to perform the track.

In 2017, he and producer Guillaume Bougard traveled to Philadelphia to deliver lectures at the Westphal School of Music at Drexel University, consistently ranked as one of the top music programs in the US, to present Jamaican music production techniques, as well as to start working on a new soul music project in collaboration with New York based publishing powerhouse Reservoir. In 2018, he released the album Love Restart. The LP features 6 extended mixes of previously unreleased tracks, while the CD edition features the same 6 tracks in their regular length plus 5 extra songs. The digital edition features the 6 extended mixes from the LP and the 5 other tracks from the CD. Produced with Sly & Robbie and Guillaume Bougard, and mastered at Abbey Road, Love Restart came out August 21, 2018 on TABOU1's bandcamp store[4] and was distributed worldwide from September 2018. McLean toured Europe with Sly & Robbie in August 2018 to promote the new album. Following Robbie Shakespeare's passing in December 2021, Bitty McLean put the soul project on the back burner and recorded an album over riddims produced by Sly Dunbar and Robbie Shakespeare as a tribute to Robbie. This 11 track album is to be released in the second half of 2022.

Personal life

He is uncle to footballer Aaron McLean and singer Anthony, under the artist name of "McLean".[5]

Discography

Bitty MacLean at Ruhr Reggae Summer 2014

Albums

  • Just to Let You Know... (1994) – UK No. 19[6]
  • Natural High (1995) – UK No. 81[6]
  • Soul to Soul (2003)
  • On Bond Street KGN. JA. (2005)
  • Made in Jamaica (2007)
  • Movin On (2009)
  • The Taxi Sessions (2013)
  • Love Restart (2018)

[7]

Singles

[3]

See also

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Bitty McLean.
  1. 1 2 3 Leggett, Steve. "Bitty McLean Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved 19 February 2009.
  2. 1 2 France.unitedreggae.com Archived 26 June 2008 at the Wayback Machine
  3. 1 2 3 Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 340. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
  4. ↑ "Love Restart Deluxe Digital Edition, by Bitty McLean + Sly & Robbie". Taxitabou1.bandcamp.com. Retrieved 1 February 2020.
  5. ↑ "Posh star Mclean's brother hopes to score a hit". Peterborough Evening Telegraph. 26 February 2010. Archived from the original on 18 October 2010. Retrieved 25 April 2010.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 "Official Charts >Bitty McLean". The Official UK Charts Company. Retrieved 14 May 2017.
  7. ↑ Allmusic.com – Discography
  8. ↑ "The ARIA Australian Top 100 Singles Chart – Week Ending 23 Jan 1994". Imgur.com (original document published by ARIA). Retrieved 14 May 2017.
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