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british reggae

Fozzie Bear said:
Coupla mixes:
http://www.uncarved.org/blog/?p=806

http://www.uncarved.org/blog/?p=596

http://www.uncarved.org/blog/2008/09/smash-the-national-front-part-two/

Good lovers rock comp:
http://www.greensleeves.net/products/7518

Asher Senator:
http://www.uncarved.org/blog/2006/07/asher-senator/

UK dancehall -check Fashion and UK Bubblers labels.

Macka B and Pato Banton's first LPs on Mad Professor's Ariwa label.

The early 12" releases by Jah Tubbys and Y&D.

Erm, yeah. Definitely get the "Don't Call Us Immigrants" comp El Jefe mentioned.

...and some early Maxi Priest, obviously. ;)
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ooh lots for later.

thanks. :)

i'm especially interested in the Lovers Rock one - i think i missed loads back in the day mainly by being a snobby roots person. :rolleyes: @ me.
 
i only remember Stop That Train, which i didn't like much.

and this one on top of Ice Cream Love.


which i didn't like either.

but yes, Tribute to General Echo was good - what's the story behind that? how did he die?

 
foo said:
but yes, Tribute to General Echo was good - what's the story behind that? how did he die?
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all I can remember is the "papa echo got shot" lyric. :o

edit - oh here we go: "Echo was shot dead by police in Kingston, Jamaica in 1980 along with selector Flux (who also worked on his Echo Tone sound system), and Stereo Phonic owner Leon 'Big John' Johns, after they had stopped the car they were travelling in. The incident has never been satisfactorily explained.[1][2]" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Echo
 
Fozzie Bear said:
wiki says Foo is right: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clint_Eastwood_&_General_Saint
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No it doesn't:

"Clint Eastwood & General Saint were a reggae deejay duo of the early 1980s, consisting of Clint Eastwood (b. Robert Brammer[1]) and General Saint (b. Winston Hislop[2]). Noted for putting on lively, theatrical and humorous performances, Eastwood and Saint came to be known as a novelty act in Jamaica.[1]Jamaican Eastwood was already an established solo deejay with a string of albums behind him when he teamed up with British deejay Saint..."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clint_Eastwood_&_General_Saint

So that would explain why the lyrics and accent are Jamaican, while the music is British foolery.
 
Fozzie Bear said:
Before the Saxon lot turned things around a lot of UK deejays imitated stuff going on in Jamaica, ripping off lyrics and catchphrases. And using patois, obviously.
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Yes, but they never really got it right. They were always a couple of steps behind.
 
phildwyer said:
Yes, but they never really got it right. They were always a couple of steps behind.
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Hmmm I think that probably true in most cases, except where people were just going "boing!" and "ribbit!" on a soundsystem.

Certainly things went off like a rocket in about 1983 when Saxon started combining fast chat with talking about life in London.

I've not got that much stuff on record from before then and it gets complicated with stuff like Pablo Gad's "Hard Times" because he was living in London but obviously grew up in Jamaica...
 
Fozzie Bear said:
Hmmm I think that probably true in most cases, except where people were just going "boing!" and "ribbit!" on a soundsystem.

Certainly things went off like a rocket in about 1983 when Saxon started combining fast chat with talking about life in London.
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Oh yes. For me Papa Levi's "Mi God mi King" was the breakthrough.
 
Clint Eastwood and General Saint - whilst, as Fozzie says, not as good as Michigan and Smiley - had a great run of singles, not to be dismissed IMO

In fact, Stop That Train was the first reggae track I ever danced to (in a gay club in Bournemouth, of all places :D :D :D )
 
Fozzie Bear said:
Pablo Gad's "Hard Times" because he was living in London but obviously grew up in Jamaica...
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fantastic record. :cool: i'm going to have to read all this properly later - supposed to be working!

Stop That Train was, and forever will be, unmitigated shit Jeff. :p

heh, it's quite good fun saying that to you. :D
 
Fozzie Bear said:
Yeah it says that in the comments but I couldn't be arsed changing it. Basically that's where the whole UK MC starts for me and goes all the way through jungle to grime blah blah blah...
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this is what i think too.

except they used to call it toasting and not mc'ing didn't they.

and they would call the toasters djs too, which is kinda confusing now...although it wasn't back then tbf.
 
foo said:
except they used to call it toasting and not mc'ing didn't they.
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I remember a docu about Lee Perry, where he took the interviewer outside his house and pointed at a rusty bread toaster he'd placed on his garden rails. He just kept pointing at it and saying "dis ya de toaster mon." No idea what his point was.
 
that seems fairly standard Perry :D

Fozzie - please can you tell me off the top of your head other Lovers Classics that you know and like? :) i know i can look at that link - but was just wondering if you had any favourites.

and also, do you know why at the time of Carol Thompson and Janet Kay, women only seemed to sing Lovers (i think this is what annoyed me back then). ok, there might've been a few exceptions singing rootsy stuff (Puma from Black Uhuru springs to mind), but most were singing 'come back baby/goodbye little man' songs.

am i makng sense? typing fast here..

edit: just remembered, Sheila Hylton (sp?) Bed's too Big Without You..and Breakfast in Bed. were they both Hylton?
 
I'm by no means an expert on lovers but this lot is bloody great:

Off that album

1. Alpha – Can’t Get Over You
2. Donna Rhoden – It’s True
3. Brown Sugar – I’m In Love With A Dreadlocks
4. Sister Love – Goodbye Little Man
5. Carrrol Thompson – I’m So Sorry
9. Jean Adebambo – Paradise
15. Lorna Gee – Got To Find A Way

And:

Brown Sugar - Black Is My Colour
Janet Kay - Silly Games (as already mentioned in t'other thread)
Cassandra - Thank You For The Many Things You've Done (from the Babylon soundtrack)

I've got some other stuff at home, probably should do a mix...

I think girls ended up doing lovers vocals because it's what sold... roots boys want blokes singing about jah and babylon.
 
picture-1-8.png
 
Brown Sugar - I'm in Love with a Dreadlocks. i'm singing in my head.."boy i love you but i love the dreadlocks better."

wonder if that's the right one...

cheers Fozzie - when i get home and can concentrate, i'll go through all this. now's not the time. i just typed 'toasting' into an email where i should've written 'together' :o
 
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