Alex Henderson

Beggar & Co.
Monument 

The U.K.’s R&B scene grew considerably during the 1980s, a decade that gave us Imagination, Loose Ends, Sade, Junior, the Style Council, Lisa Stansfield, Soul II Soul, Five Star, Simply Red and other British R&B stars. From Junior’s “Mama Used to Say” in 1982 to Sade’s “Smooth Operator” in 1984 to Soul II Soul’s “Keep on Movin’” in 1989, British R&B boasted some real classics during that decade. Yet British R&B was making inroads before that: the 1970s saw the rise of Billy Ocean, Maxine Nightingale (best known for her 1975 smash “Right Back Where We Started From”) and the funk band Hi-Tension, among others. And 1978 was the beginning of Light of the World, whose self-titled debut album was released in the U.K. the following year. A London-based funk/soul outfit with jazz overtones, Light of the World followed up that LP with their second album, Round Trip (which was produced by the late Augie Johnson, best remembered for founding the Los Angeles-based group Side Effect).

Light of the World had a few minor hits, including a cover of Bob Marley’s “I Shot the Sheriff.” And in 1980, three members of Light of the World—trumpeter Kenny Wellington, guitarist Neville “Breeze” McKrieth and saxophonist David “Baps” Baptiste—formed a new group: Beggar & Co., whose single, “Somebody, Help Me Out,” became a #15 pop hit in the U.K. in early 1981. It was during the latter part of 1981 that Beggar & Co.’s first album, Monument, came out.

Produced by Wellington, McKrieth and Baptiste and released by RCA Records in the U.K., Monument was not a major stylistic departure from Light of the World’s output: the emphasis was still on funk and soul with jazz overtones. And the influence of American funksters like Kool & the Gang, the Blackbyrds and Earth, Wind & Fire comes through on danceable grooves such as “Laughing On,” “Break It Up,” “Got to Get Away” and the #27 UK hit “Mule (Chant #2).” Meanwhile, “That’s Life” is an ethereal soul ballad, and Monument moves into jazz-fusion territory with the mellifluous instrumental “Bahia de Palma.” 

Interviewed in April 2015, McKrieth asserted that although Monument was heavily influenced by American funk and soul, Beggar & Co. were not trying to emulate their influences across the Atlantic Ocean. “The U.K. had developed a love and respect for many of our U.S brothers,” McKrieth explains. “We embraced the music from bands like Kool & the Gang, Earth, Wind & Fire, Fatback and so much more, but we wanted to put our own stamp on it and create a sound of our own. This often would mean the sound was less polished from that of our U.S. brothers and a little faster in tempo—and also, reflected the political climate in the U.K. There was massive unemployment in the U.K. in the early ‘80s.”

McKrieth continues: “Monument gave us the opportunity as a band to experiment in ways we hadn’t done before. With tracks like ‘Somebody, Help Me Out,’ the haunting ‘That’s Life’ and ‘Got to Get Away’—and a touch of jazz with ‘Bahia de Palma’—we challenged ourselves.”

During a separate April 2015 interview, Wellington remembered that working with Augie Johnson (who died in 2014) on Round Trip was a valuable experience for Light of the World—and when Wellington, McKrieth and Baptiste went on to record Monument as Beggar & Co., the knowledge they had gained from their encounter with Johnson served them well. “The learning curve of working with producer Augie Johnson of Side Effect on the Light of the World album, Round Trip, pushed the band to a higher standard as musicians,” Wellington comments.

Although Monument is not a rock album per se, Wellington recalls that Beggar & Co. admired the attitude and rawness of British punk rock. And when they recorded Monument, they avoided having a sound that was overly slick. “The punk movement had some influence at the time,” Wellington notes. “So we decided that we weren’t going to do take after take when recording. We recorded Monument with the idea that this might give something of a rawer edge to the music. Although there would be some similarity to the Light of the World sound—as we were principle writers at the time—there was a deliberate effort to deconstruct some of the sound. Monument already contained a couple of hit singles, so we didn’t mind a little bit of risk-taking.”

Wellington adds: “We did contemplate working with Augie Johnson again on Monument, but as I said, there was a decision to strip it back a little and go for an earthier and more urbane sound.”

Asked to comment on some of the differences between American R&B and British R&B in the early 1980s, Wellington responds: “If we were writing a song over here, we’d probably write at a tempo that suited the London club scene as opposed to L.A. or New York. Also, we were heavily influenced by radio as opposed to tradition. We were not surrounded by lots of other kids at high school or college wanting to make bands. In fact, we probably knew every funk/jazz-loving musician in London. When we used to travel to other towns, other bands that liked what we were doing would show up. I remember meeting a band in Liverpool called L8 that were trying to get going but couldn’t find an outlet in Liverpool and disbanded.”

According to Wellington, Beggar & Co. brought a decidedly urban perspective to Monument. Wellington explains: “Monument was really, in some ways, about life in the metropolis. ‘Break It Up’—too much fighting going on. ‘Got To Get Away’—escape from the mundane. ‘Somebody, Help Me Out’—see who I am and give me the opportunity to shine.”

Beggar & Co. remained active long after Monument, recording Brass, Strings ‘N’ Things (a live album) in 2007, The Legacy in 2011 and Sleeping Giants in 2012. And the group is still active in 2015. But Monument was where it all started for Beggar & Co., and with this album, they demonstrated that the U.K. was quite capable of delivering the funk.

—Alex Henderson, April 2015

Alex Henderson’s work has appeared in Billboard, Spin, Salon.com, Creem, The L.A. Weekly, AlterNet, JazzTimes, Jazziz, Cash Box, HITS, CD Review, Skin Two, Black Beat, The Pasadena Weekly, Black Radio Exclusive (BRE), Music Connection, The New York City Jazz Record, Jazz Inside Magazine and many other well-known publications. Henderson (alexvhenderson.com) also contributed several thousand CD reviews to the popular Allmusic.com website and The All Music Guide’s series of music reference books.