Roy Shirley passed away on July 2008. He was born Ainsworth Roy Rushton Shirley in 1944. Starting as a singer in the Church choir with his mother, he developed his musical talent by learning the guitar and progressed with the help of Jimmy Cliff, and band leaders Byron Lee and Sonny Bradshaw and the late Drum Bago, in the early sixties. He made his first recording in the mid-sixties, cutting ‘Shirley’ for Leslie Kong. Shirley founded the Uniques along with Slim Smith and Franklyn White.
Following the break up of the Uniques, Shirley attended one-off sessions for Blondel Calnek and WIRL Records before cutting what was to be his first major hit, ‘Hold Them’ (aka ‘Feel Good’) for Joe Gibbs.
He moved to Britain around 1973. During this period he had also established a reputation as a stage performer without equal in Jamaica, his live shows becoming celebrated events on the island. Roy opened a record shop in Dalston and over the years that followed remained active musically, recording new material and founding the British Universal Talent Development Association to help develop new young talent worldwide.

Now it’s time to come and pay your respects to this reggae icon. If you live in London come to The Silent Whisper Club, 21-23 Sedgwick Street, Homerton, Hackney (In Front Of The Fire Brigade Station) on the 30th August 2008.

You can listen to a great show with Derrick Morgan, Owen Gray, Winston Francis, Dennis Alcapone, BB Seaton, Michael Prophet, Anthony Johnson, Mike Brooks, Winston Reedy, Sylvia Teller, AJ Franklin, Earl Sixteen, Lloyd Brown, Earthley from Hill Top, backed by the Mind Link Band and Mafia And Fluxy Band.

All proceeds goes to the Roy Shirley Foundation.