Artist Biography
This UK act has been mixing the rhythms of reggae and ska with traditional English folk tunes since the mid-80s, initially under the name Edward II And The Red Hot Polkas, and latterly as e2K.
Formed in Notting Hill, London, England in 1985, the original line-up of Edward The Second And The Red Hot Polkas featured Tom Greenhalgh (guitar/vocals), Jon Moore (guitar/vocals), Barney Stradling (guitar), John Gill (bass), Steve Goulding (drums), Danny Stradling (percussion), Rod Stradling (melodeon), and Dave Haines (melodeon). The band made their debut for Cooking Vinyl Records in 1987 with Let’s Polka Steady!, but it was as a live act that they made their name with a series of pulsating gigs at festivals throughout the UK and Europe. Further additions to the fluid line-up during the late 80s included Neil Yates (trumpet), Lorna Bailey (vocals), John Hart (trombone), Gavin Sharp (tenor saxophone), and Alton Zebby (drums), all of who made their debut on the irresistible Two Step To Heaven. The album was the band’s second, after their debut, to be produced by the Mad Professor.
At the start of the 90s the band shortened their name to Edward II, with Moore, Yates and Zebby joined by new members Tee Carthy (bass), Glen Latouche (vocals), Rees Wesson (melodeon/accordion), and rapper McKilla on 1991’s Wicked Men. Simon Care (melodeon; ex-Albion Band) joined Edward II in the mid-90s, featuring on the studio albums Zest and This Way Up. Zebby, Latouche, and Carthy elected to leave the band following the release of the latter, bringing the classic line-up of Edward II to an end. Moore, Yates, and Care relaunched the band in the new millennium as e2K, mining a richer African seam with the help of new member Kwame Yeboah. Other new members included Albion Band vocalist Kellie While.
Hometown
Genre
Singer/Songwriter
