Third World is a Jamaican reggae fusion band formed in 1973. Third World started when keyboard player Michael “Ibo” Cooper and guitarist (and cellist) Stephen “Cat” Coore who had originally played in The Alley Cats and then Inner Circle, subsequently left to form their own band along with Inner Circle singer Milton “Prilly” Hamilton. They recruited bassist Richard Daley, and added drummer Carl Barovier and former Inner Circle percussionist Irvin “Carrot” Jarrett before making their live debut in early 1974. The band’s first single was the self-produced “Railroad Track” (1974). In their early days they played primarily in Kingston’s hotels and nightclubs and (along with The Wailers).
They were soon signed by Island Records and toured Europe with The Wailers. The band’s self-titled debut album was released in 1976. The album included a cover of “Satta Massagana”, originally performed by The Abyssinians, which became a local hit. Hamilton and Cornell Marshall (who had replaced Barovier earlier) were replaced by two more former Inner Circle members, singer Williams “Bunny Rugs” Clarke and drummer Willie Stewart, before the recording of their second album, which included several local hits. Notable among its eight tracks were “1865 (96° in the Shade)”, a reference to the 1865 Morant Bay rebellion, “Rhythm of Life” and the album’s only cover, “Dreamland”, written by Bunny Wiler. They played in front of 80,000 people at the Smile Jamaica festival in 1976.
Third World’s greatest success came in the late 1970s and early 1980s, peaking with their cover version of The O’Jays’ “Now That We Found Love” from their third album Journey to Addis. After its initial recording, the single was remixed at the behest of Island Records Special Projects division head, Alex Masucci, with new vocals and an uptempo beat. “Now That We Found Love” became a hit single on both sides of the Atlantic in 1978, reaching the top 10 in the UK. Journey to Addis became a top thirty hit album in the UK. They had first met Stevie Wonder in Jamaica in 1976, and the single prompted him to perform with them at the Reggae Sunsplash festival in 1981Wonder also wrote, along with Melody A McCully, their 1982 hit “Try Jah Love”, which brought them further exposure in North America.
Amid claims of artistic differences “Carrot” split from the band in the mid-1980s. The resulting five-piece band then went on to record more commercial tunes such as “Sense of Purpose”, “Reggae Ambassador”, “Forbidden Love” and “Committed”. Their version of “Now That We’ve Found Love” was used as the basis of Heavy D’s 1991 hit rap version. In 1992 they returned to work with Stephen Stewart and Geoffrey Chung on the album Committed. In 1983, Third World had cross-over success on the UK jazz-funk scene with their reggae single “Lagos Jump” largely thanks to Robbie Vincent and Jeff Young who played the 12-inch version on their Radio London shows. The track also became popular on the London club scene and in particular at Flicks in Dartford.
In 1985, the group’s focus steered by a shifting music scene, brought about a stylistic change in musical direction with the release of “Sense of Purpose”. The single was released as a 7-inch edit and 12-inch extended version and later was reissued as a Shep Pettibone club remix. Whilst the single was popular, it only made the lower ends of the UK charts. The 12-inch extended version was released with an instrumental plus the full length version of their 1983 cross-over hit “Lagos Jump” which almost certainly boosted the sales of “Sense of Purpose”. Despite several more line-up changes, including the departures of Cooper and Stewart, and a decline in mainstream success, the band is still recording and performing up to the present day. In January 2013, the group was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Jamaica Jazz and Blues Festival in Montego Bay as they celebrated their 40th year in music.
