TV One Unsung: The rise and fall of »Musical Youth«

Only until tomorrow can you watch the latest edition of TV One’s »Unsung« online. It deals with the rise and fall of British-Jamaican kids group Musical Youth:

Most everyone knows Musical Youth’s »Pass the Dutchie« (even Homer Simpson’s referenced it) but few have any idea what happened to the British-Jamaican kid group after their 1982 smash—or are aware that they were not just a pop novelty act but actual musical talents who played all of their own instruments and wrote some of their own material. [...] cable network TV One featured the fivesome on its documentary series Unsung, and the story depicted was far from uplifting. Their career was over almost as quickly as it began and with little compensation for their success (»Pass the Dutchie« reached No. 1 in the U.K. and other countries, and was the first song by a Black act to appear in regular rotation in MTV, just beating out »Billie Jean«) reaching their pockets, several members resorted to petty crime and drug abuse. Bassist Patrick Waite died from a heart attack in 1994 while awaiting a court appearance on drug charges; drummer Junior Waite, his brother, is permanently consigned to mental institutions.

Watch the full episode above.

Thanks a lot to Jesse Serwer who made me aware about this documentary via Large Up.

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