FRANKIE ‘DANCEHALL’ PAUL
Paul Blake (born 1965), better known as Frankie ‘Dancehall’ Paul is a Jamaican reggae artist. Born blind, he has been dubbed by some ‘The Jamaican Stevie Wonder’.
Born in Jamaica in 1965,Blake was born blind but as a child had his sight partially restored by an operation on a hospital ship. He sang for, and impressed Stevie Wonder when Wonder visited the school that Blake attended, prompting him to pursue a singing career.
Adopting the stage name Frankie Paul, he first found fame in the early 1980s, and he recorded prolifically throughout the decade. He has recorded for virtually every producer/studio in Jamaica at some time, and has been known to release several albums a year.
Paul “Frankie Paul” Blake is not the same person as Paul Blake of The Bloodfire Posse, a reggae band formed in 1983. Notable works of Frankie Paul include the popular “Sara” and “Worries in the Dance”.
Paul has resided in The Gambia since 1994.
Frankie Paul has a voice that improves with each release and, although initially compared with Dennis Brown, he has evolved a strange nasal, throaty style that makes him sound much older. It’s the sheer exuberance of his best performances that give away his youthfulness, and his two London appearances have been joyous occasions.
