Dennis Seaton

Dennis Seaton
Dennis Seaton performing in 2005
Background information
Birth name	Dennis Michael Seaton
Also known as	Musical Youth, Musical Man
Born	(1967-03-02) 2 March 1967 Birmingham, England, UK
Origin	London, England, UK
Genres	Reggae, soul, R&B, bubblegum pop
Occupation(s)	singer, songwriter, composer, music arranger
Years active	1979–1985 2001–present
Labels	021 Records (1981–1982) MCA Records (1982–1985)

Dennis Michael Seaton (born 2 March 1967) is a Grammy–nominated British soul and R&B recording artist and record producer, best known as the frontman of the British musical group Musical Youth.^[1]

Biography

Seaton first found fame as a member of Musical Youth. Friends Kelvin Grant, his older brother Michael Grant, Patrick Waite, and his younger brother Freddie Waite formed the group in 1979 while at Duddeston Manor School with Patrick and Freddie's father Frederick, a former member of The Techniques.^[1] They played gigs at local talent show and across England.

Waite senior was soon replaced by Seaton and the group performed on John Peel's BBC Radio 1 show, where they performed two of their own songs: "Political" and "Generals". MCA Records signed them in late 1981.

In the summer of 1982, 15-year-old Seaton and the group released the hit single "Pass the Dutchie" (a pun on the Mighty Diamonds song "Pass the Kouchie"), but in this case, the song talked about poor Jamaican people using it as a cooking pot. The single was successful and peaked at Number 18 on the Billboard Hot 100, and Number 1 in the UK. The band were the first black artists to be played on MTV.^[2] They followed this up with the debut album, The Youth of Today, released worldwide on 22 October 1982, the album sold 18 million copies around the U.S.. In 1984, Seaton was nominated for the Best newcomer Grammy Award with his band Musical Youth, but lost to the Culture Club.^[2]

On 9 September, 1983, the group released their second and final album, Different Style, with only two singles: "Tell Me Why" and "007", both songs flopped on the Billboard charts. Seaton announced that he was leaving the group and they split up in June 1985,^[2] Seaton going on to form his own short lived group XMY. Seaton also converted to Christianity.^[3]

In 1989, Seaton released a solo album, Imagine That, on the Bellaphon label, with songwriting assistance from Stevie Wonder.^[1][2] His solo career did not take off and he worked as a delivery driver and then in the car rental industry for twelve years, eventually co-owning his own company.^[2][3] He also returned to studying, earning a music degree.^[3]

In the winter of 1993, eight years after Seaton left Musical Youth, he rejoined, but on 18 February 1993, his bandmate, Patrick Waite died of natural causes, leaving the group with four members. Another eight years later, in 2001, Musical Youth reformed and came back into the spotlight now as a quintet. Seaton and Michael Grant still perform as "Musical Youth".^[3][4]

In 2009, he appeared on The Justin Lee Collins Show, as a blast from the past.

On 28 June 2009 he appeared on Sunday Live with Adam Boulton on Sky News talking about the life, death and legacy of Michael Jackson.

He currently lives in Birmingham with his wife Melanie, sons Theo and Max and his daughter Jazmine.

References