RIDING high on the positive reception to his version of The Beatles classic 1968 song Hey Jude, singer Hugh English is confident 2016 is a watershed for his career.

Hey Jude entered disc jockey Clinton Lindsay’s New York Foundation Radio Network chart in South Florida late last year. Its acoustic version, featuring veteran session guitarist Earl ‘Chinna’ Smith, made that table recently.

English told Splash that the song’s success transcends the charts. He sees it as part of a musical rebirth in his native Trench Town.

“My dream is to see 30 or 40 musician walk down the streets a Trench Town ’cause respect ever due to musician inna Trench Town, nuh matter the crime an’ politics,” he said.

The dreadlocked English is from Fifth Street in that community, which produced a number of reggae artistes including Alton Ellis, The Wailers (Bob Marley, Peter Tosh and Bunny Livingston), Delroy Wilson and the Wailing Souls.

Recently, a new wave of Trench Town acts, led by singjays Nesbeth and Torch, have emerged.

Produced by Mightyful13 Records,

Hey Jude is English’s breakthrough hit.

Released in late 2015, it came 12 years after he recorded his first song, the self-produced

Sufferation.

While his formative years were spent in Trench Town, English came of age in Waterhouse, another Kingston community with an impressive music heritage.

He is looking to capitalise on

Hey Jude’s triumph by recording follow-up songs with Smith, bassist Chris Meredith, and drummer Carlton ‘Santa’ Davis.

“Wi looking at doing another Beatles song, but it important to get some originals out there as well,” he said.