Six weeks after being hospitalized with pneumonia, Steel Pulse founding member David “Dread” Hinds has recovered well enough that the band has resumed touring.
Steel Pulse played shows March 10-12, in Chile, Argentina and Peru. In April, concerts are scheduled in Philadelphia, New York, Virginia and Washington, D.C. Two mid-August shows are planned in Costa Mesa, California, with Steel Pulse and Ziggy Marley.
Hinds, the band’s rhythm guitarist and lead singer, posted on Facebook a message to friends, family and fans on Feb. 13.
“As most of you have heard, I was taken down with pneumonia — an infection I wouldn’t wish on anyone,” Hinds said.
“Although I am very much still on the mend, I wanted to take time out to thank you all for being there for me. Do believe me when I say that it was acknowledging you were all by my side that kept me uplifted through this whole ordeal.”
Steel Pulse canceled its tour through mid-February after Hinds, 59, was hospitalized.
The band had been scheduled to play Jan. 28 at Cargo in the Whitney Peak Hotel in Reno.
“We were very disappointed to learn of David’s sickness. We love hosting them and they make such wonderful music,” said Niki Gross, the managing director at Whitney Peak Hotel. “We are working diligently to get a rescheduled date in the near future.”
Steel Pulse formed in Birmingham, United Kingdom, in 1975. It played at Cargo last August, and at the 2014 High Sierra Music Festival.
Selwyn Brown, keyboard player and backup vocalist for Steel Pulse since 1977, posted a get-well message on Facebook soon after Hinds became ill: “Sending out healing prayers to David Dread, hospitalized at this moment with symptoms of pneumonia. Hoping for your speedy recovery David Hinds, get well soon and know that positive vibrations are reaching out to you from across the globe. Jah Love, strength and peace.”
The canceled shows will be rescheduled and announced as soon as possible, according to the Steel Pulse Facebook page, adding the band hope to resume touring, finishing their documentary “Dreadtown” and completing their next album as soon as possible.
Steel Pulse returned to Birmingham in December to play a show with UB40. The band sent its healing wishes and Big Love via Facebook.
The band is in the midst of producing a documentary called “Dreadtown,” which has the support of Rita Marley, Bob Marley’s widow, along with Snoop Dog and Chad Smith, drummer for the Red Hot Chili Peppers and the supergroup Chickenfoot.
“Thanks to all the fans who have reached out in the last few days,” Smith wrote on the Steel Pulse Facebook page last month. “David, his family, Steel Pulse, and the crew are touched by the support and we all hope to see you on the road soon.”
The film is to be narrated by Danny Glover of “Lethal Weapon” fame.
The documentary was filmed in the United Kingdom, West Africa, Haiti, the Caribbean and the United States. It covers the band’s four decades of reggae music, including the albums “Handsworth Revolution,” “Earth Crisis,” and “Rage and Fury.”
Steel Pulse had asked its fans to financially support production of the documentary. Last month, the band reported that it had received 100 percent funding for the project. LINK
“You have chosen our path of Universal Love and Justice through music,” Hinds said recently. “And because of this we have managed to survive. Please continue to support us and our director Yoni (Yonathan Gal) and the production team through thick and thin.”
Related story: Rising band from Jamaica, Raging Fyah, on first U.S. tour. LINK
