Sadeke Brooks, Staff Reporter

Photo shows Sheila Rickards (extreme left) in a scene from the LTM Pantomime, 'Hail Columbus'. - File

An Australian-Canadian documentary film crew is seeking the help of the Jamaican people in solving a compelling reggae mystery of finding Jamaican singer, Sheila Rickards.

The two reggae fans, Canadian Chris Flanaghan and Australian Dan Monceaux, are currently in Jamaica trying to find the whereabouts of Rickards for their reggae documentary.

"We started with a bootleg recording that was released in Canada in the 1970s called Warzone. It featured Roots Jamaica by Shella Record," said Monceaux.

Not 'shella record'

He said he played the song on a radio programme in Canada and an anonymous caller to the station told him that the singer was Sheila Rickards instead of 'Shella Record' as he had thought.

Both Monceaux and Flanaghan went in search of the elusive Sheila Rickards. Through several interviews, they found out that Bunny Lee produced the track. They also found out that Rickards also worked with Sonny Bradshaw.

Since then they have interviewed Sly and Robbie, Tappa Zukie, Derrick Morgan, Earl Chinna Smith, Sonny Bradshaw and Myrna Hague, all in an effort to get a better grasp on Rickards. They also spoke to King Culture (a Toronto-based Jamaican producer), Beth Lesser and Dave Kingston (responsible for the Canadian publication Reggae Quarterly in the 1980s).

Career started at 14

"Many of them remember her, but can't tell where she is. We found out that she was actually a jazz singer, small, petite, famous in Jamaica in the 1960s and 70s. Her career started when she was 14 years old. She was on radio and television as a cabaret performer. Musical theatre was her passion," said Monceaux.

He said that Evan Williams of Red Bones, The Blues Café saw her three years ago and the Blake brothers of Merritone Disco admitted to seeing her in the last four years.

Their searches have led them to Los Angeles as it has been rumoured that she now resides there. A small independent crew will soon venture to LA following these leads, but they are still seeking the assistance of anyone with information about Rickards, her possible whereabouts or contact information.

Title may change

Once the mystery is solved, the finished film will be released late this year and might be called 'The Search for Shella Record: A Reggae Mystery'. However, the title might change as the film evolves.

"Ideally, we hope she is alive so that we could talk to her about the song and her life. If she passed away, we want to talk to her family or friends so that they could answer a few questions about her.

Monceaux and Flanagan expect to see the film play widely at film festivals and on broadcast television when it is released.