Cleveland Watkiss

Born in Hackney, East London, in 1959, Cleveland Watkiss drew on the area’s reggae and dub sound-system culture in his early musical life. He studied at the London School of Singing and the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, and co-founded the Jazz Warriors. A vocalist, actor, composer and educator, Watkiss has worked across jazz, soul and jungle and drum and bass. He has also spoken of adding layered vocals to Lisa Stansfield’s “People Hold On”.

Watkiss’s albums include Green Chimneys, released on Urban in 1989, and Blessing in Disguise, released in 1991. The 1996 album 23 came out on Dorado, the label also behind his single “Day Of Sunshine” with Marque Gilmore as Project 23. His releases have appeared on Acid Jazz and Polydor, as well as drum and bass labels including Metalheadz, V Recordings, Innerground Records and Hospital Records. His 2001 album Victory’s Happy Song.

His collaborators include Goldie, Fabio and Grooverider, alongside jazz musicians Courtney Pine, Wynton Marsalis, Nigel Kennedy, Pat Thomas and Orphy Robinson. Watkiss has also performed with The Who and Björk, and recorded with Halogenix, Phase and Kabuki. In 2022, he released the single “Babylon too Rough” on Music Connection and “Energy” with Digital and Dike Okoh on Function Records. That year also brought the album The Great Jamaican Songbook, Vol. 1, conceived as a tribute to Jamaican roots reggae and dub and recorded live with vocals captured in single takes.

Watkiss released the single “Music's Got Soul (Benny L Remix)” with Benny L, Paul T and Edward Oberon on V Recordings in 2023. In 2025, he appeared on Goldie and Rufige Kru single “Goldikus (feat. Cleveland Watkiss)”, released through Goldie Inc Ltd. He played The Cause in 2026. That year, Watkiss released “Metaphors”, a single with Benny L on Metalheadz. He also teaches at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance.