Pato Banton

Wikimedia CommonsPato Banton during an interview in 2015.

English reggae artist, Pato Banton was born in Brixton, London, on the 28^th January 1961. He is perhaps best known for his 1994 cover of The Equals’ Baby Come Back, on which he collaborated with UB40’s Robin and Ali Campbell. Banton has collaborated with several artists during his career such as Steel Pulse and Sting.[1]

Musical Career

Born Patrick Murray, Banton was given his name by his stepfather. ‘Pato,’ came from the calls of the Jamaican owl; “patoo, patoo,”[2] whilst ‘Banton’ is slang for storyteller and lyricist.[3] When he was just eight years old, Banton moved to Birmingham in the England. It was here that he began working with the British band The Beat; he featured on their third studio album called Special Beat Service on a track called ‘Pato and Roger a Go Talk’ in 1982. Three years later, Banton released his debut album Mad Professor Captures Pato Banton. Banton released several albums throughout the eighties, nineties and early noughties including Never Give In in 1987, Universal Love in 1992 and Positive Vibrations in 2007.

Community Work

In 2000 Banton founded the program ‘Musical Connections,’ with the aim of providing sixteen youth centers in Birmingham with musical equipment. He also took the time to train and support the staff in teaching Music Technology, with the hopes of giving “at risk”[4] youth without a formal education a creative outlet. Following Musical Connections’ success, Banton worked with Handsworth’s Head of Community Safety Viv Taylor in 2001 to create ‘Muzik Links,’ a program which gave young people in care or involved in crime access to tutoring and counselling.[5] As part of the program, many young people had the opportunity to be involved in dance or music performances and recordings. Banton also worked closely with the West Midlands Police Department to reduce the rates of gun crime in Birmingham. For this, Banton was awarded the BBC Lifetime Achievement Award.[6]

The Golden Rule

In 2019, Banton along with his wife Antionette Rootsdawtah Hall, who is an accomplished reggae keyboardist in her own right, became Goodwill Ambassadors of The Golden Rule. The Golden Rule, according to the URI website, is “Treat others the way you want to be treated.”[7] Ambassadors are appointed by the United Religions Initiative (URI) for their using music to promote “a culture of peace, unity, interfaith harmony, human dignity, and compassion.”[8]

Ubuntu

In 2022, Banton and Hall travelled to Africa with a film crew to begin shooting a documentary called The Spirit of Ubuntu. The pair joined Kudzai Tinago, an award-winning film director, on a journey across ten countries in Africa with the aim of documenting Ubuntu and capturing how many leaders implement it into their lives and work.[9] Ubuntu is an ancient philosophy which translates from Bantu dialect as, “I Am because We Are.”[10] In essence, it suggests that all of humanity is connected in some way. The film premiered on January 20, 2024 in Los Angeles, California.[11]

MY HERO

In 2015, Banton performed his song Love is the Greatest Thing at the MY HERO 20^th Anniversary Celebration in the U.S.

The MY HERO ProjectImage taken from the 'Love is the Greatest Thing,' music video by The MY HERO Project

Watch the music video of the performance, including clips from winning films at the MY HERO International Film Festival, here.

[1] Unknown. About Pato Banton. [Online] Available https://officialpatobanton.com/about.2024.

[2] Unknown. About. [Online] Available https://web.archive.org/web/20190111085827/http:/patobanton.com/about/.2019.

[3] Ibid.

[4] Unknown. About Pato Banton. [Online] Available https://officialpatobanton.com/about.2024.

[5] Unknown. Pato Banton Biography. [Online] Available https://surfdog.com/artists/pato-banton/.2024.

[6] Ibid.

[7] Hailu, Mussie. Pato Banton and Antoinette Rootsdawtah Appointed as Goodwill Ambassadors of the Golden Rule. [Online] Available https://www.uri.org/uri-story/20190408-pato-banton-and-antoinette-rootsdawtah-appointed-goodwill-ambassadors-golden.2019.

[8] Ibid.

[9] Unknown. Pato Banton's "THE SPIRIT OF UBUNTU" documentary. [Online] Available https://www.honokaapeople.com/event-details/pato-bantons-the-spirit-of-ubuntu-documentary.2024.

[10] Ibid.