Channel U is best remembered for it's UK urban music which usually consisted of about 50 people in the middle of a council estate seemingly being recorded on a home camera. There was more to it than that, particularly in the early days and it's playlist included quite a few Dancehall and Reggae tunes. Amongst these was my record of the year for 2003, "No Letting Go" by Wayne Wonder which often appeared on Channel U in the summer of 2003.
It had an immediate impact on me and was a tune that would get me on the dancefloor on a night out at the time. I bought the album "No Holding Back" shortly afterwards too.
I'd first come across Wayne Wonder in 1996 when he was featured artist on "Something Different" by Shaggy but heard no more from him until 2003. I suspected he'd be four or five albums into his career by this point but no, this was in fact his eleventh album.
His music career began as a 13 year old in 1985 and his debut album came out in 1989. Seven more albums have followed since, the last being in 2014 but these appear to have made little impact.
Its a shame his time at the top came and went like it did, but then the other big Jamaican star of 2003, Sean Paul, who I also quite liked at the time has made some pretty terrible music in the last 10 years, so maybe it's just as well Wayne Wonder can be fondly remembered instead of go down that road.
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