Death of two great 'slaves'

One of the most popular funk groups in the United States in the 1980s was Slave. Jamaicans remember them most for the songs, Watching You and Just a Touch of Love.

Recently, the band lost two of its original members: influential bassist Mark Adams and guitarist Mark Hicks.

Adams, whose bass licks were the backbone of the band's sound, died in March at age 51. Hicks died June 14 from a heart attack.

Formed in Dayton, Ohio in the mid-1970s, Slave had a strong Jamaican connection. Their first manager was Jeff 'Free I' Dixon, the Jamaican disc jockey who was killed along with reggae star Peter Tosh in 1987.

Dixon was a disc jockey at WNJR AM in New Jersey when he first met members of Slave in 1977. He helped them secure a deal with Cotillion Records, a subsidiary of Atlantic Records.