Mel Cooke, Freelance Writer

( L - R ) - Chaka demus and Pliers. - Contributed

Singer Pliers chuckles when The Gleaner asks if the new single, Front Door, refers to a vehicle, a house or any other object which requires entry and exit.

He just calls it "another kind of door". And Chaka Demus, his deejay partner in one of the most successful and long-lasting duos in Jamaican music, says "A jus' straight front door dis ya place have. It no have no back door".

A listen to the bouncy song may give a clue, as it advises a lady to lean back, flash her hair and get ready for the ride.

Big hits

Front Door is not unexpected material from a duo which hit it big with Murder She Wrote, Tease Me and Twist and Shout (with Jack Radics), among other songs that were especially big in Europe. And it is expected to give access to their latest album, Back Off The Wall, released on the Explorer label in their European stomping and dancing grounds late September.

Among the songs on that set are Treat Her Right, Riding in Front, Front Line, Man a Lion and Say My Name, with Bounce It appearing in its original form as well as a reggaeton mix.

Back Off The Wall makes six albums for the pair and Pliers says "We a one set a artiste no do no whole heap a album. People woulda surprise".

Still, even by their deliberately selective approach, it has been an extended break between their latest full-length effort and their last set, Every Kind of People. About eight years break, in fact. Pliers explains that they were originally with Island Records and after that period they have been doing "some freelance and tour".

Back Off The Wall was recorded in Canada, England and Jamaica, Chaka Demus explaining that at times they would "fly go Englan' go hol' a vibe ... then fly go Canada go hol' a vibe again. Mi neva have nutten gainst dat. A tune can lick yu a Canada an' is a hit tune".

The European release is directed at their fan base there and, at the time of the interview ahead of Sunday's American Music Awards where they were down to perform Bam Bam with Alicia Keys, they had never toured the United States. They were slated to do a 10-week stint after the AMAs. Europe is a familiar jaunt and Chaka Demus says that it was "jus the organisation weh deh mongst we. Dem a focus on Europe because we a sell so much record".

Still, Pliers pointed out that "Tease Me do well in the States".

On their last college tour of England, about two years ago, Chaka Demus said all the dates were sold out, with Pliers saying they saw many 18 and 19 year-olds in the audiences. Those would be near adults who had a healthy dose of the pair in their childhood as Pliers says "We used to do a lot of kids shows". "We couldn't walk a road. Kids love we," Chaka chuckles.

Their last major performance in Jamaica was East Fest in 2005, but they count concerts in Ethiopia, Kenya and Uganda among their stops.

"When Jamaica feel like nothing going on we out there," Chaka Demus said.