Nat Francis AKA JJ Sparks was born Gladstone Alexander Wilberforce Oliphant in Kingston, Jamaica. He was born to a family who loved music and was gifted to sing.
Coming from a family with strict religious beliefs many of them sang in Church choirs others including ”Junior” as known by close family and friends, went on to to take their creative talents onto a wider audience, these other family members included Cecil Campbel, Jimmy Tucker and Sharon Tucker.
As an only child he made a close friendship with Keith Sterling, known lovingly as ”Fat Keith”, who now tours with the Wailers. To him he sends his love and respect. At the age of fourteen Nat came to the UK to join his father who was living in London, he began work as a trainee welder, but longed for the chance to sing. His first recording was a duet with Prince Buster on the Bluebeat Label.
The song was produced by Prince himself and arranged by Laurel Atkins, after this he was soon signed by the label and released recordings under the bluebeat management these included: BB346 Mama Kiss Him Goodnight/Tra La La La released under the name Nat Francis side A and Buster Jnr side B BB361 Just To Keep You/You Only Want My Money BB376 Feeling Blue/Seven Nights Of Love In those days you wrote your own material and Mama Kiss Him Goodnight was written in a naive attempt to bring his estranged parents back together again. When the Bluebeat label imploded Nat was still very young, being the youngest artist ever signed to the label and under his father’s influence began a ‘real’ career and joined the British Army.
In 1980, Nat changed his stage name to J J Sparks, this was under the influence of friends, who greatly admired his dancing talents.
For when he danced it was said the sparks would fly from his shoes! As quoted by the co-producer of the album ‘Brixton Bluebeat’ Delroy Simpson ”MJ can dance ! Believe me man when ‘junior’ moved it was an unbelievable experience, people were mesmerized, when he ”shuffled”, I, myself could not believe it, and still to this day can’t ! How any human being could keep his upper body so straight while his feet shuffled across the floor like they did, as if they didn’t belong to him, I still can’t understand, believe me man you have to see it to believe it.
