Carroll Thompson — Queen of Lovers Rock
Introduction:
Born in 1960 in Letchworth, Hertfordshire, England — of Jamaican descent — Carroll Thompson is the undisputed Queen of Lovers Rock and one of the most gifted and influential artists in British black music history. Her 1981 debut album Hopelessly in Love was voted the Greatest Lovers Rock Album of All Time by readers of Mojo magazine, is included in The Guardian's 1000 Albums to Hear Before You Die, and has sold over a million copies worldwide. As a singer, songwriter, producer, vocal arranger and playwright, Carroll Thompson's career has touched some of the biggest names in music — from Michael Jackson and Stevie Wonder to Robbie Williams and the Pet Shop Boys.
Early Life & Musical Roots:
Growing up in one of the first Jamaican immigrant families in Hertfordshire, Carroll was raised on a rich blend of Jamaican music — ska, reggae, rocksteady — alongside American soul artists including Sarah Vaughan, Gladys Knight and Stevie Wonder. She trained in classical piano from the age of eight, sang in school and church choirs, and studied for a business degree before her musical destiny asserted itself. As a teenager she provided backing vocals on pop recordings after auditioning for Frank Farian's Sugar Cane group. Meeting Jamaican producer Leonard Chin proved pivotal — under his production, she recorded her first self-penned lover's rock singles.
Carroll Thompson The Best Of - Track Listing:
- 01 I'm So Sorry - - Carroll Thompson.mp3
- 02 Sing Me A Love Song - - Carroll Thompson.mp3
- 03 Mr Cool -- Carroll Thompson.mp3
- 04 Between Me And You - Caroll Thompson.mp3
- 05 Hopelessly In Love - Carroll Thompson.mp3
- 06 Hoping On Love - Carroll Thompso.mp3
- 07 Simply In Love - Carroll Thompson.mp3
- 08 Your Love - Carroll Thompson.mp3
- 09 Just a Little Bit - Carroll Thompson.mp3
- 10 Merry Go Round - - Carroll Thompson.mp3
- 11 The Other Side Of Love - Carroll Thompson.mp3
- 12 When We Are As One - Carroll Thompson.mp3
- 13 No You Don't Know - Carroll Thompson.mp3
- 14 Lovers And Strangers - Carroll Thompson.mp3
- 15 A Natural Woman - Carroll Thompson.mp3
- 16 Carroll Thompson Dreams Of You.mp3
- 17 Chinchilla Choons ( Skit ) .mp3
* The Best Of
* Play Tracks Directly On Your Mobile Phone.
* All Tracks Are Individual.
* Full Tracks. *
* All Tracks Are Mp3 (320kbps) Quality.
* No Jingles Over The Tracks*
Hopelessly in Love:
In 1981, Carroll's singles "I'm So Sorry" and "Simply in Love" both reached number one in the British reggae charts — an extraordinary debut. The album Hopelessly in Love followed, recorded with her own C&B band on her own C&B Productions label — making her one of the very first female reggae singers in Britain to found her own production company. The album was an immediate cultural landmark. The Guardian called it "a sort of dub-wise version of Joni Mitchell's Blue." Estelle cited it as an influence. Darren Hayman said: "This album wraps me up... I could live forever with this one album alone." She won the GLR Reggae Awards for Best Female Performer in both 1982 and 1983, and Best Song for "Hopelessly in Love" in 1982.
Session Queen & Stage Pioneer:
Carroll's vocal gifts took her into the studios of some of the greatest artists of the era. She has recorded session vocals with Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder, Natalie Cole, Sting, Billy Ocean, Chaka Khan, Boy George, Robbie Williams, Pet Shop Boys, Annie Lennox, Maxi Priest and Aswad — a roll call that speaks to the exceptional quality of her voice. In 1990 her collaboration with Aswad and Courtney Pine on a version of Diana Ross's "I'm Still Waiting" charted in the UK, as did her work with Movement 98's "Joy & Heartbreak" — co-written with legendary DJ Paul Oakenfold. She is also featured on the Pet Shop Boys-produced soundtrack to the Oscar and BAFTA-winning film The Crying Game.
Named one of the UK's 100 Best Black Britons by the Evening Standard, and recipient of the Outstanding Contribution to Black Music UK award in 2007, Carroll Thompson's legacy endures in her music, her theatrical work The Lovers Rock Monologues, and a new generation of artists who name her as an influence.
Key Releases:
- Hopelessly in Love (1981) — greatest lovers rock album of all time
- The Other Side of Love (1993)
- Feels So Good (2011)
- Flying High (2014)
- Hopelessly in Love (40th Anniversary Edition) (2021)
- Key singles: "I'm So Sorry", "Simply in Love", "Joy & Heartbreak" (with Movement 98)
Carroll Thompson on Reggae On A Stick: 
Carroll Thompson is one of the featured artists on our Reggae On A Stick USB — 100 of the greatest reggae albums compiled onto a single plug-and-play USB drive. Experience the voice Mojo readers voted the greatest lovers rock album of all time alongside 99 other legends.
👉 Shop Reggae On A Stick — 100 Reggae Albums On 1 USB