10 Facts About Junior Byles

Junior Byles's family were devoutly religious, and his early musical education came from singing in church.

Junior Byles formed the vocal trio The Versatiles in 1967, along with Dudley Earl and Ben 'Louis' Davis, while working as a firefighter.

The group split up in 1970, with Byles still working as a firefighter but continuing to record solo for Perry.

Also in 1972, Junior Byles began self-producing, and set up his Love Power label, releasing singles such as "Black Crisis" and "Our Mistakes".

Junior Byles was one of several reggae musicians to offer support to Michael Manley's 1972 general election campaign, releasing the singles "Joshua Desire" and "Pharaoh Hiding".

Junior Byles moved away from Perry in the mid-1970s, recording three duets with Rupert Reid for Dudley Swaby and Leroy Hollett's Ja-Man label, as well as recording for Lloyd Campbell and Pete Weston.

Junior Byles released a second album, Jordan, in 1976, produced by Weston.

Junior Byles was admitted to Bellevue Hospital, after which his health continued to decline.

Progress on a planned new album was slow, and Junior Byles was beset by tragedy when his mother died, and he lost his home in a fire.

Junior Byles contributed to the Medicine I compilation album in 2000, and returned to live performance in 2004 in Jamaica, receiving positive reviews.