ROCKSTEADY trio The Melodians are down to perform in the United Kingdom for the first time in over 20 years. In April, they appear at Skamouth in Great Yarmouth, eastern England.

While original member Trevor McNaughton performed in the UK before with original members Brent Dowe and Tony Brevett, it will be a first for Winston Dias and Taurus Alphonso, who joined the group in 2014.

Dowe died in 2006 while Brevett died in 2013.

McNaughton is looking forward to the show, given the UK’s long love affair with rocksteady.

“I really like the thought of England. People there love ska and rocksteady,” he said. “We’d love to go there as much as possible.”

The ‘new’ Melodians, McNaughton admits, are “still on the hunt” for shows three years after forming in South Florida.

Last June, they performed at the This Is Ska festival, in Rosslau, Germany, their biggest gig to date.

McNaughton formed The Melodians in 1963. They were one of the top rocksteady acts, recording mainly for producers Arthur “Duke” Reid, Sonia Pottinger and Leslie Kong.

Their hit songs include Swing And Dine, Sweet Sensation, Little Nut Tree, and Rivers Of Babylon.

McNaughton, Dias and Alphonso have re-recorded some of those classics with producers Willie Lindo and Danny Breakenridge.

The Melodians are among this year’s recipients of Jamaica Reggae Industry Association awards. The ceremony is set for the Courtleigh Auditorium in New Kingston on February 26.