Tony Curtis
Artist. Reggae, dancehall
- Active
- 1990s-present
- Sunrise
- Linstead, St. Catherine, Jamaica
Tony Curtis is a singer of lovers rock and roots whose sweet tenor was in demand with producers in Jamaica, New York and Britain from the 1990s, and who sings in the harmony quartet L.U.S.T. with Lukie D, Thriller U and Singing Melody.
Born in Linstead, he began in the early 1990s after winning a local talent contest as best singer, and his first success came with "Butterfly," produced by Barry O'Hare. Solo hits including "Faith" and "High Grade" followed. He recorded for Don Moodie's Don One label in Brooklyn, among its "top singers," and for the British Stingray label, one of the Jamaican singers whose records built its reputation as the most "Yard-sounding" of British outfits.
In 2012 he released an EP, Fight It, for France's Greenyard Records. He had first heard the Mighty Diamonds through their Channel One records, and in 2022, after Tabby Diamond's life was taken, he recorded the group's "Africa," a cover Tabby had approved when they toured Japan together in 1995.
Last updated October 21, 2026
Connections
- Thriller U (bandmate)
Notes
- Erik Magni, "Interview: Tony Curtis," United Reggae, February 13, 2012, https://unitedreggae.com/articles/n859/021312/interview-tony-curtis. "Tony Curtis Goes Back to Africa," Jamaica Observer, May 26, 2022, https://www.jamaicaobserver.com/2022/05/26/tony-curtis-goes-back-to-africa/.
- Magni, "Interview: Tony Curtis." "Tony Curtis Goes Back to Africa," on Linstead.
- "Tony Curtis Goes Back to Africa." Steve Barrow and Peter Dalton, The Rough Guide to Reggae, 3rd ed. (London: Rough Guides, 2004), 419, 432.
- Magni, "Interview: Tony Curtis." "Tony Curtis Goes Back to Africa."
