The Ethiopians

The Train To Skaville single was very much “the little train that could”. The disc managed to post a top 40 placing in the UK under some of the most unpromising of circumstances. Cut in 1967 with backing from Lynn Taitt And The Jets, it was originally issued in Britain on the tiny Rio label owned by one William Rickard, really just an off-shoot of his record shop which catered for Jamaican recordings. With little radio support, the key to its success was the popularity it gained on the dance club scene. This momentum pushed it onwards and into the charts.

The taste that the Mods had got for Jamaican music through the Ska boom had remained as that fashion receded and this enduring interest led to the talented duo of Leonard Dillon and Stephen Taylor’s sole hit. Though another British chart placing eluded them, Train To Skaville set them up for a long run of success back in Jamaica with many well respected recordings. A knock on effect of the single’s triumph was they were one of the few artists afforded the opportunity of cutting a long playing record so early on in their careers, the Engine 54 LP that we have here.