Cimarons drummer, Maurice Ellis is dead
DRUMMER Maurice Ellis, a founding member of The Cimarons band, died in London on June 10 at age 69.
Locksley Gichie, guitarist for the band, said his friend of more than 50 years died in hospital from cancer.
Ellis was born in St Ann. He moved to the United Kingdom in 1963 and four years later, became a member of The Cimarons which also included Gichie, bassist Franklin Dunn and keyboardist Carl Levy.
He played on the band’s seven albums, the best known being On The Rock, which was recorded in Kingston in 1976.
“Maurice was never a[n] up front person; he accepted life day by day. A lovely person,” said Anthony “Chips” Richards, another long-time friend.
The Cimarons are the backbone of British reggae. They backed every major Jamaican act who toured the UK during the music’s infancy in that country, including Desmond Dekker, Jimmy Cliff, Bob Marley, Toots and The Maytals, Derrick Morgan, and Pat Kelly.
Ellis and his bandmates were honoured in July 2014 by the borough of Brent in north-west London, which placed a Blue Plaque at the Tavistock Community Centre in Harlesden where The Cimarons were based early in their career.
Maurice Ellis is survived by two sons and two grandchildren.
