"That taught me a great deal and I had to learn my trade. Signed by a record company at the age of 15, he failed to score the hit record he wanted - something he describes as a painful experience that eventually made him "stronger". "I thought, 'Wow this is really interesting. John, who grew up in London and briefly in New York during the 1960s and 70s in a family of St Lucian descent, says he was he was struck by the number of black British artists coming up after he returned from the United States. They include Jaki Graham, Labi Siffre, Billy Ocean and Patti Boulaye as well as Pauline Black of The Selecter, Neville Staple of The Specials and Maizie Williams of Boney M. It features over 100 interviews with a "kaleidoscope" of musicians, artists and others who have shaped black music in the UK. John's soon-to-be completed Flashback documentary project includes 400 hours of film edited into chapters going right back through the decades to the turn of last century. "They feel like things may have started from the 90s and that's it!" "I think the issue with black music is that a lot of the kids don't even know who, how, what or where things came from," he told AFP. The singer, now 65, has spent the past 10 years working on a history of British black music which he describes as his "life's passion" and believes can offer young people knowledge to help unlock their potential.
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