Anthony Benedict Thompson

Anthony Benedict Thompson[1] joined Benz in 1993; his nickname in the band was Darkboy, and the other members were Tim Shade (Benjamin Balogun) and B.I.G. Ben (Benedict Ofoedu).[1] He and Balogun were old friends, and Balogun invited him to join after seeing him walking down the street.[2] Their first single was "Boom Rock Soul", a term used by Benz to describe their music; they used a December 1995 issue of Echoes to explain that Balogun contributed the Boom, or "the deep hip hop, the hard bass", while Ofoedu contributed the Rock, and Thompson contributed the Soul.[2] "Boom Rock Soul" charted at No. 62; subsequent singles "Urban City Girl", "Miss Parker", "If I Remember", and "On A Sun-Day" charted at No. 31, No. 35, No. 59, and No. 73 respectively.[3]

In 1999, Thompson and Ofoedu provided vocals for Phats & Small's "Turn Around", "Feel Good", and "Tonite";[4] which charted at No. 2, No. 7, and No. 11 on the UK Singles Chart.[5] He was promoted to main vocalist for their second album, This Time Around;[4] the song's title track charted at No. 15 on the UK Singles Chart,[5] and Thompson lip-synched to it on Top of the Pops.[6] He also sung on the album's "Change",[7] which charted at No. 45 on the UK Singles Chart.[5] In late 2003, Thompson joined Four Story, a band formed from Ofoedu, Mark Brightman, and Rodney Williams, who had previously been in REDhill with Shane Lynch;[8] they took part in Making Your Mind Up, with the intention of representing the United Kingdom at the Eurovision Song Contest. They came fifth.[9] Thompson, Ofoedu, and Phats & Small reunited for an appearance on stage in the 2015 NYE MarbsFest at the Brentwood Centre; he used a 2015 appearance on Phoenix FM that month to advertise the event to note that he had started his own fitness, nutrition, and athletics company, and that he was an ex-cage fighter.[4]