Stop playing silly games and just be good to Lindy Layton…but where is she?(!)
If you were about in that long hot Summer of 1990 then Lindy Layton wouldn’t of been far away from your radar. She sang on the seventh biggest selling single of the year and kept us all dancing with her cover of Janet Kay’s 1979 hit “Silly Games”.
Belinda Kimberely Layton was born in London in 1970 and after attending stage school in the 1980’s, she was recruited by former Housemartin Norman Cook to sing lead vocals in his new group Beats International. Their debut single “Dub Be Good To Me” (sampling The SOS Band’s 1983 song “Just Be Good To Me“, The Clash’s “Guns Of Brixton” and New York DJ Johnny Dynell’s 1983 release “Jam Hot”) was released in January 1990 and after just three weeks, had perched itself at the very top of the UK singles chart. It charted top ten across Europe and made No.76 in the US where it also topped the Dance chart.
The group’s debut album “Let Them Eat Bingo” reached No.17 in the UK and has been certified Gold for sales of over 100,000 copies. It yealded one further top ten single “Won’t Talk About It” (UK No.9, US Dance No.4).
The group continued into 1991 before it disbanded but Lindy, having caught everyone’s attention, left in the Summer of 1990 to pursue a solo career. This kicked off in fine style with her cover of Janet Kay’s 1979 UK No.2 hit “Silly Games”, which Lindy (and Janet) took to No.22.
Her follow up “Echo My Heart” was released in January 1991 but this only managed to reach No.42 in the UK. Both songs featured on her debut solo album “Pressure” which failed to chart anywhere. A third single “Wait For Love” also failed to chart and a fourth “Without You (One And One)” (produced by soul-funk group Driza Bone) only managed No.71 in the UK in the Summer of 1991.
In 1993 Lindy signed to Pete Waterman’s legendary label PWL and recorded the singles “We Got The Love” (UK No.38) and “Show Me” (UK No.47) but following their disappointing chart placings, no album was recorded and Lindy had left PWL by the end of the year.
Apart for a few small hits and an album in Japan in 1996, Lindy has not troubled the charts anymore. She has, however, carved out a career as a songwriter with fellow writer and producer Mark Kootchi. Her most notable works are with the group Groove Diggerz for whom she wrote their song “Body Flow”. In 2009 they recorded “Just Be Good To Me”, a reworking of “Dub Be Good To Me” and asked Lindy to provide the vocals, just as she had done nearly twenty years earlier.
She performed with London group Dub Pistols at Glastonbury in 2010 and in 2013 Lindy hosted a short-lived radio show on Kane FM. In 2014 she took to the stage at the Penn Festival in Amersham and performed her best known song for a delighted crowd!
Lindy in 1990………………………………..and Lindy 2018
You can keep in touch with Lindy via her FACEBOOK page
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