Bim Sherman

Rooted in reggae, his music developed in later years in many directions, combining influences from all around the world, notably India. Sherman was also hailed as "reggae's sweetest voice". Bim Sherman was gifted with a haunting, ethereal voice that reached into the very heart of his listeners. In the mid 1970s he recorded a small body of classic roots tunes as a young struggling singer in Jamaica. He later moved to London where, as part of the post-punk reggae infatuation, he made a name for himself recording with Adrian Sherwood's On-U Sound label. He became part of various musical collectives associated with On-U Sound, such as New Age Steppers (alongside Ari Up, formerly of The Slits), Singers & Players (with Congo Ashanti Roy and the late Prince Far-I ), Dub Syndicate and Justice League of Zion.

Sherman also recorded a handful of solo reggae LPs. Towards the end of his life, Bim Sherman took a whole new musical direction. He went to India and re-recorded his classic 70s roots tunes alongside a full Indian classical orchestra in Bombay, creating his masterpiece LP, the highly acclaimed Miracle. This opened Sherman up to an entire new audience and he seemed at last to be emerging from the reggae underworld. It Must Be A Dream, an entire remix of Miracle was released with dance mixes by top UK DJs, followed by another notable Indian/reggae crossover LP What Happened? Then, out of the blue, Bim Sherman was diagnosed with cancer and died within weeks of his diagnosis. He received an obituary in The Times, a rare accolade for an underground reggae singer.

• Discography at unofficial On-U Sound website
• Profile at unofficial On-U Sound website
• Discography at discogs.com