Exploring the roots of reggae’s Sound Systems Long before 2-Tone, Britain’s reggae-loving youth were grooving at blues parties to roots reggae, pumped out of huge speakers, with a bassline that could loosen your fillings. This is the unique culture of the mighty Sound Systems, and like many British cities, Coventry has had a proud history [...]
A rebel and his lawyer Patrick ‘Tony Rebel’ Barrett is regarded as a ‘Rebel with distinction’, who ignites audiences locally and internationally with his conscious reggae lyrics, such as Jah By My Side, Sweet Jamaica, Loyal Soldier and Fresh Vegetable. His first release was the single Casino in 1988. His big hit came in 1989 [...]
Flourgon ‘Run Tings’ in late ’80s Flourgon was one of the first dons of dancehall music. Born Michael May in Kingston, Flourgon began his career on the sound system circuit, performing with Stone Love, Small Axe, Rambo Mango and his own Sweet Love set. He often performed alongside his DJ sibling, Red Dragon, with whom [...]
Jamaican musician who named genre stays with the beat When it comes to reggae music, there are still a few performers on the road who can boast of having been around since the genre’s early days. Only one of them can rightfully claim to have named the genre.
Dave Stelfox on ‘white reggae’, once reviled, but now taking off around the world For a small place, Jamaica exerts a big influence. It covers an area of less than 11,000 sq km, with fewer than 3 million inhabitants. But ask anyone with even a passing interest in music to name its principal export and [...]
No Strings Now Things have been weird for Ali Campbell since he announced his split from UB40, the massively successful British reggae band he formed with his brother Robin and six schoolfriends nearly 30 years ago. The Dorset-based vocalist has experienced the pain of being shunned by his former band-mates and the joy of launching [...]
Jamaica Gleaner News – The Jamaican music video – The Best and worst of times Poco Party (Lovindeer) – This one captures pocomania at its best and the scene where Uncle Tom loses his teeth is priceless. Wild Gilbert – Lovindeer scored again with this one. Anybody who says they could not relate to even [...]
Mikey Dread Remembered Like most tales of triumph and tragedy, the life, career, and untimely passing of reggae pioneer Mikey Dread at age 53 will live on long beyond his time on earth. There aren’t many artists in the history of the genre who were able to gain acceptance for reggae the way Mikey did. [...]
Alpha Blondy is back with a globally minded, trilingual reggae album That veteran African reggae star Alpha Blondy is back with a new album, Jah Victory – a nod to his 1982 debut Jah Glory – is a clear sign that things are going more smoothly in his country. A half-decade back, the Ivory Coast [...]
Toots kicks off Do the Reggae world tour Reggae icon Toots and the Maytals kicks of the first leg of his Do the Reggae world tour this month, celebrating the 40th anniversary recording of Do the Reggae which has been credited for giving the genre its name.