Biography
Inspired by composers like Roy Budd and Quincy Jones along with funky soundtracks like Bullitt and Dirty Harry, the Leeds, U.K., combo Capri dubbed their sound "cop funk" when they formed in 1996. As time went on, core members Chris Donnelly and Daniel Woodward dove deeper into '70s soul and funk, taking in James Brown, Donald Byrd, Azymuth, and Roy Ayers as influences. Their repertoire was entirely instrumental at first, and then they discovered a Stevie Wonder-inspired vocalist named John McCallum. McCallum would stick with the band — now 11 members big — through numerous gigs across the U.K., but he left in 1999 and was replaced with Benson Walker. Walker appeared on that year's Earth Songs EP, which also introduced the band's own label, Groove Laboratory Productions. In 2002 Capri made their full-length debut with Boogie Man, another hip-shaking effort, featuring the single "Barbarella." Besides playing in Capri and running the label, Walker and Woodward also host the popular GLP Sessions show on the Internet radio station Jazz Syndicate Radio.
