On the 19th of November 2005 was the official launch of Bongo Chilli's brand new record label, BongoChilli Records
The event was held at Bar Amour in Huddersfield city centre and was well attended by local artists, regional promoters, musicians, DJs etc and of course, Chilli's supportive friends and family.
It was a well branded affair with a huge banner on the bar, red, green and black ribbons everywhere and even balloons in the colours of the Jamaican flag.
After a fantastic buffet provided by the in-house chef there was a series of speeches;
Speeches were made by,

Cheryl Roberts Cregon (Kreative Response diverse arts - Huddersfield);
D Bo General (Huddersfield Artist);
Dan-Man (Huddersfield Artist)
Nicole Jewitt (Sheffield Promoter);
Alex Deadman (Junglist Alliance - Sheffield);
Country Culture (Manchester Artist);
Foxy (Huddersfield Artist).

Cheryl spoke of Chilli's extensive work within the education system. She explained how Chilli is able to earn the respect of even the most rebellious youngsters and can impress upon them his message of non-violence, peace and of course, good manners. Cheryl talked of the way that Chilli gets school children to write lyrics in order to express themselves and shows them what sort of content should be within those lyrics.
Long time musical partner and good friend, D Bo General spoke next. He talked of the support and encouragement that Chilli had given him and of the various projects that they had worked on together. He expressed how pleased he was to have linked with Chilli, that this Jamaican born man had ended up in his town of Huddersfield, somewhere with a now disproportionately high number of Reggae stars!

Dan-Man, another local and highly acclaimed artist, was the next to speak. His message was largely similar to D Bos. Chilli is an inspiration to him as a friend and as an artist. They love to perform together and he even spoke of theatrical projects that they had jointly worked on.
Nicole Jewitt, a Sheffield promoter, spoke of how refreshing it had been to work with an artist of Chillis calibre and how he has exploded on the Mic, time and time again every time he had performed at some of his events.

Alex Deadman (22) and Tim Walker (19) spoke of the support that Chilli gives to The Junglist Alliance. Alex spoke how both he and his father (Alan Deadman Sheffield Music Promoter and Community Champion) had found great reward in Chili as an artist and as an individual. Alex and Tim agreed that Chilli was a powerful and inspirational figure in their lives as artists and had provided a positive role-model for them to look up to.
Country Culture spoke very eloquently and explained Chillis work in spiritual terms. Certain people have a gift and chose to use it certain ways, Country was sure that Chilli was using his in the right way.

After the speeches everyone chatted casually. New acquaintances were made and others were reinforced. Many plans for future northern reggae events and organizations were made. Following this, Chilli took everyone to a local Working Mens Club where a friend was having a party. Im not sure if the club knew what had hit them but they were very accommodating.

After this was the actual dance, held back at Bar Amour. All the pieces were in position for this to be a Reggae spectacular with the addition of Daddy Freddy, a true veteran and tutor to Chilli himself. Live performances were heard from, Chilli, Dan-Man, D Bo General, Country Culture and the legend Freddy himself. The atmosphere was one of peace and collaboration. Everybody knew each other and was keen to here and support the various acts.

The night ended with a thank-you from Chilli, much love and respect and a journey home!

Big Up Bongo Chilli records

Alex Deadman