In the late 70’s UK music charts, amongst the soul, disco, rock , pop ,singer songwriter ,punk and new wave artists - Barry Biggs had a chart topping number 3 smooth reggae hit with “Sideshow”.

What’s different about this track and indeed Biggs’ style was he avoided the more political and hard reggae rasta sounds that were prevalent at this time - most notably with Bob Marley.

The roots of the song lie with Blue Magic a Philadelphia soul group who wrote the tune in 1974 and had a number one hit in the R&B charts.

The original tune has a laid back grooving soul style akin to the Stylistics and the Chi Lites and the other artists in that genre.

However Biggs’s reading of the song transforms it into a lovely smooth reggae calypso feel and in my opinion surpasses the original.

There’s a sadness in the lyrics and the upwards and downwards melody and resolution of the melody, really makes this a satisfying listen - where the music compliments the meaning of the lyrics.

Jamaican born Barry Biggs worked as an engineer and producer at Kingston’s acclaimed Dynamic Sound Studios - and no doubt his experience achieved the smooth production values of this record.

Go check it out - it encapsulates an era!