This seminal group are regarded as one of the most prolific of the British funk movement at the time, and since. From this nucleus emerged a number of other bands, many of which had success in their own right: Incognito, Freeez, Beggar & Co, The Warriors, Central Line, Dante, and The Team are just a few of Light Of The World’s progeny.

Most of the band members came from Tottenham in North London, and also areas of East London. They performed their first large gig at Tiffany’s nightclub in Purley South London, where the first National Soul Alldayer was also held. Their jazz influenced names were: Nevil ‘Breeze’ McKrieth (guitar), Paul ‘Tubbs’ Williams (bass), Peter ‘Stepper’ Hinds (keyboards), Everton McCalla (drums), Ganiyu ‘Gee’ Bello (percussion), Nathaniel ‘Nat’ Augustin (trombone), Canute ‘Kennie’ Wellington (trumpet), David ‘Baps’ Baptiste (saxophone and flute), and Jean Paul ‘Bluey’ Maunick (guitar). A road trafffic accident, unfortunately took the life of another member, Chris Etienne, whilst on tour in 1980.

In 1979 they joined the Ensign record label, with the aid of DJ extraordinaire Chris Hill, after their manager gave him a demo. They hit the ground running, as their first single Swingin’ earned them an instant hit and an appearance on Top Of The Pops, which was quite an achievement in the days before multiple music channels on satellite television. Other singles such as The Boys in Blue and Midnight Groovin’ which owed much to Herbie Hancock, were released later on. Their debut self-titled album contained that song, their debut single, and the unashamedly Cockney vocals of Liv Togevver, while the cover art for the LP received a Best of the Year award from Music Week magazine in 1980. A version of the LP was produced specifically for the American market with an alternative design. Amazingly during the height of their success, the band were selling in the region of 40,000 singles per week for nearly two months. Big hit records meant instant fame, but not instant fortune. Band members would often have to sacrifice personal possessions in order to pay for transport to gigs, or even instruments.

The Round Trip LP, was a highly sophisticated quantum leap from their first, and contained a number of popular singles released towards the end of 1980: Time, the unforgettable London Town, I Shot The Sheriff, the ballad I’m So Happy, and Pete’s Crusade a tribute song to the jazz trio The Crusaders. American Augie Johnson who had worked with funk groups like Side Effect and The Brothers Johnson, produced the album which even featured some of the band’s long time heroes, jazz musicians Wayne Henderson and Bobby Lyle playing on two tracks. David Bendeth, a jazz guitarist from Canada, supplied his considerable talents to the record also. Although the group disbanded soon after, they still managed another chart hit in January 1981, with their funked-up cover version of Bob Marley’s I shot The Sheriff. However, this end was just the beginning of Light Of The World’s legacy, as former members utilised their talents on other projects; Three of them formed Beggar & Co., while Maunick left to join Freeez, then co-created Incognito and The Warriors with Williams and Hinds.

A return to the studio with 3 original members, saw them release their 1982 EMI LP Check Us Out, which contained the title track, Famous Faces, and the very well known No.1 Girl. It was produced by British drummer Nigel Martinez who had released a record which was very popular in the nightclubs a few years previously. But this was to be their last album for many years, as band members returned to their own projects and undertook session work. In the interim, there were only occaisional singles such as Ride The Love Train, and Jealous Love in 1983, and an album of remixes. After a long hiatus, their Inner Voices album became available on CD in 1999.

In the Autumn of 2003, they reunited to perform at a concert celebrating British soul and funk of the 1970s and 1980s, which was held at the Royal Festival Hall in London. Freeez, Junior, David Joseph and many other artists of the period also participated. In the spring of 2006, Addicted To Funk a compilation CD of their hits was released, followed by a new album, featuring Walk Don’t Run a track recorded with Alexander O’Neal, and a version of David Bendeth’s Feel The Real.

2007 saw the bands Beggar & Co. and Light of the World reunited yet again, this time at the Jazz Café, for a sold-out benefit concert to raise money for the family of Paul 'Tubbs' Williams. In December of that year, their collaborative efforts in the studio culminated in the release of a new CD. Brass, String N' Things.

* Thank you Kenny Wellington. Updated November 2013