Reggae superstar Wayne Wonder is the headliner at tomorrow night's Rise & Shine concert.

The Jamaican-born artist, christened Von Wayne Charles, spoke to The Royal Gazette from his Florida home about his musical sojourn, what tunes the Bermudian audience can expect and what he does for fun when he is not creating what he loves.

Wayne Wonder started out singing in Sunday school. His family moved all over eastern Kingston – in Dunkirk, Franklin Town and Rae Town, the home of the weekly Sunday night reggae/R&B oldies street dance.

His exposure to vintage 45s at these dances encouraged him to have a richer, more soulful vocal approach to reggae than many of his contemporaries.

In secondary school, his thoughtfulness and philosophical nature led to the acquisition of the nickname 'Wonder'. As a youngster he sang at school, at home, at church and for his friends and wherever he sang, he was encouraged to pursue his craft professionally.

The first producer he recorded for was the legendary creator of dub, the late King Tubby. Of the three original songs, only one caught the public's attention, his cover of British heartthrob Rick Astley's 'Never Gonna Give You Up'.

The young artist was devastated by the death of Tubby in 1988, as he was his most significant influence. He then linked up with producer Lloyd Dennis and voiced 'It's Over Now' for Dennis' Pickout label.

"No More Chance" soon followed on the same label.

The album contained seven original tracks and several obligatory cover versions reflecting Jamaican producers' preference for recording covers of American R&B hits.

He was frustrated when he took original material to the studio and it was ignored.

Wayne Wonder then collaborated with his childhood friend Dave Kelly in 1989.

At the time, Mr. Kelly was an engineer for Penthouse Records, which, in the late 80s and early 90s, was synonymous with dancehall reggae hits. Together they created a steady stream of successful tunes for the label including 'I'm Only Human', 'Baby You and I' and 'Saddest Day', which was re-recorded in combination with Foxy Brown on her 2001 CD 'Broken Silence'.

Wayne Wonder became well known for his 1991 cover version of late Jamaican singer Delroy Wilson's 'I Don t Know Why', which was re-titled 'Movie Star'.

Recorded again under the title 'Bonafide Love' with Buju Banton – who Wayne Wonder brought to Penthouse Records – the song once again proved a huge success and remains a heavily requested tune today.

Other hits included a cover of Tracy Chapman's 'Fast Car', PM Dawn's 'Die Without You' and En Vogue's 'Hold On', but in 1993 he pledged he would only record original material stating that he didn't feel proud singing someone else's tunes.

He put out 'Joyride', 'Bashment Gal', and 'Keep Them Coming' on two labels founded by Mr. Kelly – Madhouse and Xtra Large. The album 'Schizophrenic', which featured a host of artists, followed in 2001.

In 2002, Wayne Wonder earned the first number one hit of his career with 'No Letting Go'. The single was released on the 'No Holding Back' album under a major label – Atlantic Records.

The single dominated urban and pop radio and reached number 11 on the Billboard Hot 100 pop chart in America.

The album received a Grammy nomination for Best Reggae Album, a UK MOBO Award and three BMI Urban awards. Wayne Wonder followed it all up with a live performance on the popular NBC late show 'Saturday Night Live'.

The follow-up single and video, 'Bounce Along', reached number 12 on the UK pop charts.

A cover of The Thompson Twins' 'Hold Me Now' appeared on the film '50 First Dates', starring Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore. His latest album is 'Foreva'.

As for work at the moment: "I am just doing the recording and basically just putting down stuff until I start packaging and putting stuff together," he said. "But I will have something fresh dropping for the summer. My life is about music, even if I am not performing or on the stage, it has something to do with music, I am writing or something, but it has to be music-related.

"I don't need to have a special time to do what I do, I have my own studio that I can go in and start a project, so I don't have a special time to make music.

"It's anytime it comes to be, I can go in and turn on the studio and set it off."

He admitted he never thought he would achieve the degree of success he has.

"I just started out with the love of the music. I didn't think of the success. I just wanted to see my name on a vinyl or a record, you know, and to hear it over the airways and all of that, to perform and to go out there. But I didn't really think of the depths of success."

Over the years, his talents have expanded into production. "You know, you have different experiences. Basically you develop that self-sufficiency and realise that if you need something you have to go after it."

When asked whether he trained as a musical engineer, he answered: "Basically you just pick it up over the years. I just grasped everything.

"I think if you love something it just comes more naturally. It is not rocket science. For me it just falls in place after you learn the basic stuff. Actually if you want to get into it, you will get into it and learn it, you know, and learn from other influential people and (be able to) execute what I learned and now can do myself."

Playing an instrument is another of Wayne Wonder's talents.

"On a couple of my songs I would pick up the guitar and just vibe, you know," he explained.

"I do play the keyboards and definitely I always have a musical influence in what I do. You see a lot of artists and they are not familiar with what key their songs are in and all of that, and that is something that I know."

He added that waking up on a daily basis doing exactly what he wants to do is one of the greatest benefits of his success.

"That's a good feeling. You know it is so funny, because three days I was in one country, the following day I was in three different countries – in Denmark then in Sweden – but it is because of what I love to do that I am all over and it comes so easy for me and I love it more."

When Wayne Wonder is not on the road performing, his time is spent having fun with his daughter, 17, and his son, two.

"Well it's just hanging out with my kids, I have a lot of fun hanging out with my kids, you know on video games," he laughed adding, "I watch, especially with my daughter, she loves gadgets. I guess I have to because my son is growing up and he is so much into gadgets."

Tomorrow night, the audience can expect an array of hits from Wayne Wonder.

"It has been a while since I have been to Bermuda, so you know there will be tracks like 'Movie Stars', songs from the album 'No Holding Back' and songs like 'No Letting Go' and 'Bounce Along', which is on the British charts also.

"I will also do some of the current songs from the album 'Foreva'. I'm just going to blend it. I'm not one-dimensional, I give you dance hall style, I give you one drop and lovers' rock style. I look forward to performing for the people of Bermuda and bring the youth dem together, I hear about the gangs East and West or Uptown and Downtown."

The Tec Promotions event will also feature performances by Cham, Mr. Easy, Stamma-T, FireKid, Hype Type, Troy Anthony and Clinark Dill, who launched his debut album 'Journey to Foreign', last weekend.

Entry is free courtesy of HOTT 107.5 FM between 8 p.m. and 9 p.m., during which time the Culture Shock Crew and BlackStar Sound will perform. Tickets, $45, are available at Music World, Dub City (Hamilton and Somerset), Natural Links and Jamaican Grill.