The Fabulous Five Band recently launched its 30th album, The Ultimate Vintage Jamaican Party Mix 3. The official unveiling of this latest recorded effort by Fab Five took place at the Jamaica Association of Vintage Artistes and Affiliates' (JAVAA) Haining Road headquarters in New Kingston.

The new Fab Five CD, which contains 33 selections, cuts across different eras in the development of local music, from popular foot-stomping gospel numbers of the early 1960s, through to ska rocksteady, reggae and the 2004 lovers' rock of Beres Hammond.

In covering the listed periods of Jamaica's music, the band's renowned vocalist and drummer Grub Cooper pays tribute to a number of the country's most prolific hit-makers of the past and present. Among the artistes covered by Cooper and the band are John Holt, Jacob Miller, Roy Shirley, Ken Boothe, Alton Ellis, Gregory Issacs, Jackie Edwards, Jackie Open, Super Cat, Buju Banton, Jigsy King, Tony Curtis, Freddie McGregor and Beres Hammond.

"These albums basically reflect how Fab Five as a band play for the many and varied audiences over the 34 years of our existence.
"We play mainly for mature people and that is why we tend to choose most of the number-one songs over a period of time, and other popular songs, as people tend to gravitate towards the hits," Frankie Campbell, leader/manager/bassist of the band told the Observer.

Campbell further stated that the band was bombarded with requests for a Party Mix 3 album, following the resounding success of Party Mix 1 and 2.

"People were really clamouring for a Party Mix 3, so we sat down, chose the material and did what we considered to be a very good selection of songs which people can really enjoy and dance to," Campbell said.

The Fab Five leader says that the band has been truly encouraged by the sales of Party Mix 1 and Party Mix 2.

"I can tell you that Party Mix 1 and Party Mix 2 have both sold over 50,000 copies each, which by the Jamaican yardstick is excellent, and they are still selling. We are also very encouraged by the sales of Party Mix 3, which has sold over 500 copies in its first full week of being available to the public," Campbell said.

Highlighting the rich history of this pre-eminent musical aggregation, Campbell noted the distinction of having backed American singer Johnny Nash on all the reggae cuts on the platinum-selling album I Can See Clearly Now.

"Two singles from that album, Guava Jelly and Stir It Up, established Bob Marley as a major songwriter on the international scene," Campbell pointed out.

In addition Campbell says that one of the proudest times for the band came in 1986 when the Yu Safe album was declared as the album of the year by the major media entities operating in the island at the time.

"Yu Safe was very special, as it won almost all the major awards available at the time," Campbell said.

The Ultimate Vintage Jamaican Party Mix 3 was produced by Campbell and is being distributed by Stage Records, the official label of the Fabulous Five.

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