Finley Quaye is the son of vaudeville pianist
Cab Kaye and the half-brother of the English guitarist
Caleb Quaye. Born in Edinburgh, Quaye went to school in
London,
Manchester and
Edinburgh. However, he left school with no qualifications. Before launching his music career, he took various forms of employment including car-spraying, fish-smoking, making futons and as a stage-rigger and scaffolder. Quaye's father was born in London but considered himself as
African. Although known as
Cab Kaye, his full name was
Nii Lante Augustus Kwamlah Quaye and he was a
Chief of the
Ga tribe centralized in Jamestown,
Accra, Ghana. Kaye was the son of the pianist
Caleb Jonas Quaye a.k.a.
Mope Desmond, who was born in Accra, Ghana. Finley did not grow up with his father and only found out fully about his father's musical career when he was in his twenties. Mope Desmond, Cab Kaye and Finley Quaye have all played
Glasgow's
Barrowlands,
Wolverhampton's Wulfrun Hall and London's
Cafe de Paris. Finley was on tour with his band when he met his father for the first time in
Amsterdam. Finley Quaye was inspired early in his childhood by jazz musicians Pete King,
Ronnie Scott (who began his own musical career making tea and running errands in Finley's father's band) and
Lionel Hampton. As a child growing up in London, Quaye would be taken by his mother to
Ronnie Scott's jazz club in Soho to catch performances of American musicians touring Europe. These included
Buddy Rich, who recorded his album
in 1980 and
Ella Fitzgerald. Quaye's mother had a long-term relationship with musician Pete King, who hosted and performed at Ronnie Scott's. Around this time, Finley was also taken along to see the likes of
The Ramones. In Edinburgh, shows that made an impact in his early years included
Frank Chickens at The Hole in the Ground during the Fringe Festival. He also saw
Peter Green of Fleetwood Mac at The Venue with
Cozy Powell on drums around 1990. Art was also a constant influence and source of inspiration on Quaye's mindset and artistic approach. He attended The
Frieze ART Fair at Regent's Park as well as
Gilbert & George and
Harlan Miller exhibitions and opening nights. He presented awards at The
Indian Film Awards at The O2 Arena in London as well as
David Gray's
Ivor Novello at The Dorchester Hotel in London. The younger of Finley's two sons, Caleb Quaye, took his own life in 2023. ==Career==