HIS cover of reggae bop Baby Come Back was a 90s smash.
And while he’s not reached the same heady heights since the track topped the charts in 1994, Pato Banton’s passion for music is still burning bright.
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The 61 year-old Brummie looks great 29 years on from his commercial peak that saw him team up with UB40’s Ali and Robin Campbell to record a version of Eddie Grant’s track.
Pato recently visited Sao Paolo, Brazil, where he attended the launch of a new jazz cafe and performed to a rapturous crowd in the street.
Prior to that, he shared his dream of performing a gig in Kenya following a tour of Florida with his band The Now Generation.
When he’s not on the road, Pato can be found performing weddings and counselling couples and children.
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Spirituality is now his main focus and in an interview with Island Stage Magazine, he explained how he uses his musical talents to fund his mission.
He explained: “Our lives are devoted to our outreach ministry and that is our real motivation. I’m just now learning to balance my spiritual life with the music life. My spiritual life is what motivates me but there’s no money in that so I need pay my bills.
“So, if someone in Florida wants me to marry them then I plan a tour around it. If someone in Oregon wants me to baptize them I’ll plan a tour to get there and back home. I’m far from a financially secure situation.
“I still live month to month like most people in the world, but I’m happy. I’m living my life on the terms I want to live it. I’m blessed to have a partner who supports me too…in everything that I want to do. She doesn’t try to limit me or inhibit me from any of my aspirations. It’s a good thing.”
Following his Baby got Back success, Pato collaborated with Sting and his track Groovin’ was a smash in new Zealand and featured on Disney’s The Parent Trap soundtrack in 1998.
Three years later his 2001 album Life is a Miracle was nominated for a Best Reggae Album Grammy.
His last studio album, Destination Paradise, was released in 2008.
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