Sheila Hylton
Born on 13th August 1956 in London, Sheila Hylton spent her first five years in England before moving with her family to Jamaica, where, following her schooling, she completed her education at the Jamaica Commercial Institute.
Her first association with the music business came when she began working as a secretary at Total Sounds Records, but uninspired the, work, she soon began dividing her time between working as a model and as an airhostess for Air Jamaica.
Sheila’s decision to pursue a flying career may well have been influenced by her grandfather, a former Pan Am employee with an appreciation of jazz who, along with his wife, had raised her in Kingston.
While still with the airline, Sheila began her recording career under the guidance of Harry Johnson, who in 1979 eleased her debut single, ‘Don’t Ask My Neighbour’, which became a local chart hit and heralded the beginning of a successful partnership.
Johnson had previously enjoyed international success with his production of Lorna Bennett’s version of ‘Breakfast In Bed’ and following the success of ‘Don’t Ask My Neighbour’, he persuaded Sheila to re-record the song. His faith in the song’s commercial appeal promptly paid dividends, with the new version entering the UK pop chart in the autumn of ’79.
Soon after, Johnson issued her eponymously titled debut album, which included her two best-selling singles, alongside a number of equally impressive tracks, including a number of the singer’s own compositions, most notably, ‘Disco Reggae Beat’.
The following year, she enjoyed a second foray into the British mainstream singles chart with a sultry interpretation of the Police hit, ‘The Bed’s Too Big Without You’, which had been arranged by Sly & Robbie alongside Sheila and Eric `Bingy Bunny’ Lamont, with Harry taking the production credits.
It was around this time that a recording session with Sheila featured in the cult television documentary ‘Deep Roots Music’, while a appearance, backed by the Cimarons, on the BBC’s ‘Top Of The Pops’ gave UK viewers another opportunity to see her in action.
In 1983, she cut ‘Let’s Dance’, which became a minor hit in the reggae charts, although a year later she left for the USA, resulting in her recording career coming to an abrupt halt.
Sheila finally returned to Jamaica In 1995 and signed a contract with Tommy Cowan‘s Talent Corporation for whom she recorded a superb version of Diana Ross & the Supremes‘ ‘My World Is Empty Without You’.
Over the years since, Sheila has performed alongside Ken Boothe and Third World in Europe and California respectively, while also hosting the International Reggae and World Music Awards, but sadly her recorded output far too infrequent, with the excellent 2006 album, ‘Steppin’ and her single, ‘House On The Rock’ from 2014 the most recent reminders of her undoubted musical talent.
STEPHEN NYE
Photos courtesy of Sheila Hylton