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BLACK MUSIC JULY 1974: Vol. 1 / Issue 8

THE REGGAE UNDERGROUND: - PT. 6
Ignord By The Mass Media, Often Beset By Hassles, The Music Scene Of London`s Black Community Is Nevertheless Alive And Grooving. A Six-Page Special Report
By Carl Gayle: -

TROJAN RECORDS grew rapidly as Lee Gopthal bought up several retail outlets for the company`s releases. The chain of record shops known as Muzik City is now owned jointly by Gopthal, Desmond Bryan (the managing director), and Webster Shrowder. The records sold and Trojan expanded. They established deals with the leading labels back in JA: Coxsone, Duke Reid Amalgamated, Blue Cat, High Note, Randys, Upsetter, Doctor Bird, Treasure Isle, and Pyramid. Week after week there were numerous releases on these labels. They later issued records on their own subsidiary labels: Big Shot, Attack, Green Door, Big, Jackpot, Explosion, Grape, Smash, and Horse.

Since the rock steady era the Trojan Empire has monopolized the Jamaican music industry in England. (For examples of some of the best Trojan releases see "Essential Reggae" in the May issue of Black Music.)

"I`d say we controlled about 75% of the reggae market in England," said Webster Shrowder. "The other 25% is shared between labels like Count Shelly, Koos, Ethnic, Magnet, Island, and Rhino. And we do some distribution for Ashanti. I`m fully in charge of all our reggae labels as well as our soul labels, People and Action.

"I`ve made a lot of changes," said Shrowder. "One decision is to redue the number of releases per week. Instead of ten we release four and we still get equivalent sales figures and less aggravation. And I`m only putting out the very best records,

"Our artists based in Britain are as you know, the Pioneers, Dandy Livingstone, Doris Troy, Nicky Thomas, Tito Simon, Winston Groovy, Judge Dread, The Cimarons, the Marvels, Danny Ray, Matumbi, and Buster Pearson. We`ve streamlined the number of producers in Jamaica that we take material from, and we deal with both producers and artists to avoid any problems.

"Producers don`t really look after the artists in Jamaica so it`s up to us to ensure that there`s fair treatment, otherwise it will reflect on us. Y`see there are only two companies in Jamaica--Dynamic and Federal. Most of the others are just little labels, one man things. They hire an artist, produce a record, get it pressed, and take it around on a scooter and flog it to the shops. Too much of it is amateurish and that`s why artists get robbed. So we like to deal with producers who do their business properly. We do everything legally, we don`t issue records unless the particular artist or product is contracted to us. And we only deal in royalties".

Trojan receive nationwide distribution through B and C, but they sell as many records in the Muzik City shops, concentrated in the dense W. Indian areas of London, as they do in the whole of the rest of Britain.

"From our point of view," said Shrowder, "the reggae scene is thriving. But what I`d really like to see is the radio stations playing a lot more reggae because it has a wide scope and there`s a big market for it. `Reggae Time` (a one hour, Sunday afternoon London radio programme) just isn`t enough. And I don`t know what these small labels are doing. I`d like them to be successful but there just isn`t any competition".

Trojan Records began in earnest to make a name for itself when "Return Of Django", "Israelites", "Long Shot Kick The Bucket", and "Liquidator" made the pop charts in 1969. These songs became chart successes chiefly because they were being bought by a whole new group of white English kids who, because of their convict type haircuts (which they had borrowed from W. Indian youths) became known as Skinheads.

White kids had been associating with blacks in clubs like the Ram Jam, since black music first became popular in England. But it wasn`t until 1967 that the whites had begun to really appreciate reggae music, and to mimic the black lifestyle. They fell in love with the first wave of reggae music that Pama Records issued, like the instrumentals--"Spoogy", "Reggae On Broadway", and "1000 Tons Of Megaton" by Lester Sterling. They stomped to the frantic dance records like "Work It" by the Viceroys, and "Children Get Ready" by the Versatiles. They sang along to Pat Kelly`s "How Long Will It Take" and Slim Smith`s "Everybody Needs Love", and laughed at rude items like Max Romeo`s "Wet Dream" or Lloyd Terrell`s "Bang Bang Lulu".

Pretty soon you couldn`t go to a black house party without finding a gang of skinheads. But amazingly, there was little black/white violence and hardly any resentment. Black and white youth have never been as close as they were in the skinhead era, despite the `mixing` in the trendier soul scenes nowadays. The skinheads copied the way we dressed, spoke, walked, the way we danced. They danced with our chicks, smoked our spliff and ate our food, and bought our records.

Today, four years after the birth of the skinhead boom, the white working class kids in bovver boots and hedgehog haircuts have disappeared completely from our clubs. Their current heroes (Slade and Bowie) are no longer identical with ours.
Carl Gayle:
Part 6

BLACK MUSIC JULY 1974

peace

BLACK MUSIC JULY 1974: Vol. 1 / Issue 8

THE REGGAE UNDERGROUND: - PT. 7
Ignored By The Mass Media, Often Beset By Hassles, The Music Scene Of London`s Black Community Is Nevertheless Alive And Grooving. A Six-Page Special Report
By Carl Gayle: -

OUR HEROES are the guys that are really into roots reggae like Gregory Isaacs, Augustus Pablo, Delroy Wilson, and Ken Boothe, says Melvin Dockeray who, at weekends, works behind the counter at Junior`s Music Spot, the most popular shop for black music in Finsbury Park, North London and once the premises of Bamboo and Ashanti Records.

"The best current selling records are the Brent Dowe LP `Build Me Up` and the latest Ken Boothe album `Let`s Get It On` and his single, `Everything I Own`. Ken Boothe outsells John Holt. Girls mostly buy John Holt, but everybody buys Ken Boothe.

"Tonight I might go to a party in Hornsey and take in Fat Man`s sounds. Fat Man is just a wee bit ahead of the other sound systems as far as I`m concerned, sometimes his dances go on till 7 and 8 o`clock Sunday mornings. House parties are still popular in North London. It`s something for the younger generation to look forward to. A lot of people don`t even think about doing anything else, they just live from Saturday to Saturday. They do it all through their lives".

Mellos (as he`s called by most people who come into the shop) is a busy and ambitious type. He`s made a few recordings under the name of Soul Rebels backed by Black Slate, and as Doc B as a soloist. And when he isn`t at work at the record shop he`s at home studying accounts. "But it`s tough," admits Mellos, "because Friday and Saturday evenings I don`t get any time to study. Maybe if my music thing turns over a bit better I`ll be able to concentrate on studying because my main interest really is to be an accountant".

But Mellos, like most of the guys who crowd the record shop at weekends, doesn`t let anything get in the way of enjoying himself. "I can only afford the cheap clubs like Loyola Hall or the Cobweb club. The crowd at the Cobweb is the `regular` crowd, y`know the guys who always follow certain sound systems. There`s a much more brotherly thing now. Everybody realises that it`s useless going around fighting your own kind because in the end it`s them who have to come back and help you.

"So I enjoy myself much more at these kind of places than at the expensive places like the Q where everybody`s so sophisticated. When you go to those posh places you find that people are more standoffish. They won`t say hello to you until they`ve seen you a whole heap of times. And the simplest thing, asking a girl for a dance, which I seldom do, if they don`t know your face the answer is `no`. But with the ordinary local crowd everybody`s on the same level. My music is strictly reggae, but you have some soul music which I like such as the Chi-Lites and the Stylistics, the type that reggae artists put into a reggae version".
Carl Gayle:
Part 7

BLACK MUSIC JULY 1974

peace

BLACK MUSIC JULY 1974: Vol. 1 / Issue 8

THE REGGAE UNDERGROUND: - PT. 8
Ignored By The Mass Media, Often Beset By Hassles, The Music Scene Of London`s Black Community Is Alive And Grooving, A Six-Page Special Report
By Carl Gayle: -

THE present day underground reggae youth culture is still confined mainly to once a week 7-11 dances at pub halls like the Sunday sessions at the Bluesville in Wood Green, and to sleazy house parties and clubs like the Cobweb in Hornsey, the Crypt in Depford, SE London, and the Four Aces in Dalston, N16. But the other real reggae strongholds--the Apollo nightclub, and the All Nations in Hackney, are the most highly-rated.

The All Nations club is owned and run by Jamaican Bob Elliott who already had club managing experience with Burton`s in Cricklewood, the Night Angel in the West End, and the Wicky Wacky in NW London. The All Nations is like two clubs in one. it`s the largest and most comfortable of the black clubs, with two dance halls, two lounge bars, TV room, games room and restaurant.

"It`s not a teenage club really," said Ginger who`s been DJing at the club for the past year. "You get a lot of married couples, nearly everyone`s twenty and upwards. We play a flexible variety of music--reggae, soul, old r&b, even some country and western. You go into the dance hall in the early hours of the morning and you might hear Nina Simone and a bit of Ray Charles. They dig that type of music in the early hours. Their one favourite is Nina Simone`s `My Baby Just Cares For Me`, we play it every Saturday night. On Saturday nights half the population seems to come here".

Indeed Saturday nights bring all sorts to the All Nations. There are the grass roots reggae type, renegades from the nearby Four Aces, here only for the night. There are those that can`t find a party to go to, or are taking a break from the Columbo. And there are those older members, `the adult crowd`, who either seem desperate to make new friends or too tired to talk. The husbands laugh and drink all night and the wives sit and frown until it`s time to go home.

Over on the other side of London, at 375 High Road, Willesden, is situated the Apollo Club. The Club, like Palmer Estate Agency, and Pama Records (which is now defunct) is owened jointly by three brothers from Jamaica, Carl, Geoffrey, and Harry Palmer.

"I run the nightclub," said Geoffrey, "Carl concentrates on the Estate Agency, and Harry used to run Pama Records. The club`s been going strongly for four years. The first year we were very successful. The second year we had to close the club at midnight because the neighbours complained that the music from the club was too loud. The Council sympathised with them and I lost a lot of business. Then I got the place sound proofed and we`ve been back to a normal time of 7pm to 5am since December 1972. We can`t admit under 18s, but generally on Friday nights we get a younger set of people and on Saturday nights, the married couples".

When an artist like Ken Boothe is appearing however, everything changes, literally everybody comes. Tonight, Saturday night, Ken is on stage and the pavement outside overspills with the unlucky reggae heads who despite their money cannot get inside the club.

Off the foyer, a door opens to a small hall where there`s a gathering of people in the business--musicians, promoters, producers, label owners, and girl friends. The bright light cuts through the smoke filled air revealing the stylish outfits of all the women, the extravagant postures of some of the younger chicks, and the rugged but beautiful features of the black dudes.

Those at the noisy domino table include the energetic Nicky Thomas, and the proud boastful Sydney Crooks of the Pioneers. No matter where you go in West Indian circles, there`s always a domino table. The music in the dance floor outside is tonight`s excuse for this game of dominoes. Elsewhere in the hall are scattered the members of the Cimarons who are being congratulated on their new LP (which is due for release in July) by everyone including members of another Trojan band, Matumbi.

Like most nightclubs, the Apollo is the place (in NW. London) where guys go to pick up chicks, have a drink and hear the latest sounds, and do the latest dances. The people here come from all over North London, a few come from South London but most South Londoners who are into reggae and soul rarely cross the river. They are satisfied with the Georgian and Mr. Bees.

"Our members are always saying that this is the best club in London," said Geoffrey Palmer. "The atmosphere here is tremendous, the people feel free. That doesn`t mean they go wild in the club, they`re relaxed and they really enjoy themselves. Our DJ, Smokey Joe, is Trinidadian and he`s really funky. He came here with a soul thing when we got the licence back to open late. He`d been doing American bases before that. In the early days of the club we used to have all the big artists and all the radio DJs like Steve Barnard, Rosko, and Dave Simmonds. Now, the club hardly needs them anymore because Smokey Joe pulls in a big crowd.

"But we still use Steve Barnard, he gets a chance to meet the people who bring requests in on Friday nights. And we offer more than any other club on Sunday nights. We do beauty contests and talent contests. This is the third year we`ll be having the Miss West Indies in Britain beauty contest. Pama Records started because we used to have talent contests at our previous club, Club 31. We discovered Junior English and several others through our talent contests.

"But the black clubs, we don`t fight against each other. There aren`t many clubs and there are so many people to serve that there`s no need for rivalry. We all visit each other and share experience and advice. This must be the only business in London that`s not a cut-throat affair".
Carl Gayle:
Part 8

BLACK MUSIC JULY 1974

peace

BLACK MUSIC JULY 1974: Vol. 1 / Issue 8

THE REGGAE UNDERGROUND: - PT. 9
Ignored By The Mass Media, Often Beset By Hassles, The Music Scene Of London`s Black Community Is Nevertheless Laive And Grooving. A Six-Page Special Report
By Carl Gayle: -

THERE is a real division between the `roots` reggae crowd and the reggae/soul crowd. The former, as Mellos pointed out, usually dislike soul type clubs like Ronnie Scotts, the Columbo, or the Q. Their down to earth manner is in sharp contrast to the sophisticated cool of the dudes who wear baggy pants and high heels, regularly buy James Brown, and specialise in dancing like the Americans.

The Q club was started in 1963 by a Jamaican named Wilbert Augustus Campbell (better know as Count Suckle), who stowed away from Kingston in 1952 on a banana boat . . . "I came from a big family," said Suckle. "There were thirteen of us and my parents were poor. Things were rough when I grew up so I decided to split up and come to England, the mother country. I must`ve been about eighteen."

Mr. Campbell became Count Suckle when he started up his sound system in the early sixties. By the time his sound system opened the Roaring Twenties club (Carnaby St.) in 1962, Suckle had built up a large following and a `name` for himself by playing at two roomed basement `blues` dances, private parties, and wedding receptions up and down the country in the predominant West Indian areas.

"I opened the Twenties on the 4th of July, a Wednesday night, American Independence. But the club wasn`t opened for black people, it was owned by Jewish people and it only catered for Jewish kids. I was the only black guy there because I was the leading DJ at the time and they wanted a popular `front` figure to pull in the crowds so I was hired".

After a while Suckle`s young black followers began to seek admittance to the Twenties which resulted in Suckle putting his foot down and threatening to quit if the management did not change its `no admittance` policy towards blacks. When they gave way and W. Indians were allowed into the Twenties, it became a predominantly `black` club.

"I left the Twenties because it was rough," said Suckle, "it was just a dump. It was a drugs scene, dope pushing, young kids smoking dope, people fighting, the police raiding the club, hundreds of young black kids taken to jail y`know! I just couldn`t stand it.

"There weren`t any black owned clubs then. The places in the West End where black kids used to go were white owned. Some of them used black staff as a `front` like the Colombo does now".

Suckle didn`t relish the idea of continuing to play at House parties. The white neighbours were always complaining about the noise, and the police were a continuous hazard.

"I wanted a big place where everybody could come and relax and enjoy themselves, which I achieved with the Q. But it was a hard struggle to get any kind of assistance in the beginning. They just felt that anything black people ran was a dump. After you settle in and people become aware that you`re doing things properly and in the eyes of the law, then they`re willing to help you. I`ve been here eleven years and this club has never been raided, we never have any trouble with the police, we never have any fights, nobody`s ever been cut or shot or anything like that.

"Now I intend to have a bigger and better Q club as soon as I can find the place, the proper spot. I won`t move from here because this club is successful, but the black population is rising so fast that we need more clubs in London. We want more black people to get together and open clubs themselves. I`ve been trying to get a bigger spot for over a year but the Council`s so funny that the minute you mention the word `club` they say no! But when I get the right place I intend to have my own American show. I want to bring James Brown over for a week just to play at the Q. I want to bring people like Isaac Hayes, Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklyn week after week".

The Q club is situated in the heart of Paddington at 5a Praed St, W1. just ten yards from the busy Edgware Rd. It is enclosed by a cinema, and a National Assistance Office. In the daytime you could walk right past without seeing it. After 11.30 at night (except Mondays) you`d have no trouble, sometimes the queue extends around the corner onto Edgware Rd.

The Q is a basement club. Beneath a framed photograph of Mohammad Ali, I sit on a comfortable settee facing the entrance and watch as people gradually arrive. Ken Boothe`s records (he`s a guest tonight) dominate the turntable and send warm shivers up my spine via the eighteen inch speakers beating above my head.

The Q starts filling from 11.30. This is the club (reputedly) where you`ll find the best soul dancers, the prettiest, trendiest black chicks, the hippiest black dudes, the Yankee money men, the in crowd.

"We lead the field because we`ve always moved with the times at the Q club. When we opened ska music was the thing, Prince Buster, Don Drummond, Reco, Tommy McCook, Roland Alphonso, Baba Brooks y`know. They all played here when they toured London. We played all the latest things and the new dances caught on quick. There was the twist, the dog, the boogaloo, the rock steady. Now we just had the bump, the American guys from the bases and the American tourists bring the latest dances here. And we use all the top American and Jamaican groups that come to England, we always have.

"The Q club is international so we have to mix the records. A few years ago soul was the thing so we used to play more soul. If you wasn`t on the soul scene you wasn`t on nothing. You used to have six, seven soul acts coming to London every week. You just got to stay with the times. If they wanna hear reggae we`ll play reggae, if they want rock and roll we`ll play it. My personel preference are soul ballads, the softer side. My favourite singer was Billy Stewart, but he died.

"But black people are accustomed to one type of music, the music they feel, and that is reggae and soul. You never get a black population digging white people`s music, the majority don`t dig it. But white kids in general like to be among black people because they get a certain feel in our clubs. And the white kids who just go to a white club they can`t dance much but when they mix with black kids they become very good dancers. So black music will always thrive".

The Q isn`t at all representative of the grass roots reggae crowd; the regular visitors here have much more money in their pockets than regulars at other black clubs like the Apollo, the All Nations, or the Four Aces.

After getting a head full of funk and skank, by 3 am the numbed Q club crowd start drifting home. The night`s music has been dominated by solid disco funk such as "Who Is He", "TSOP", "Jungle Boogie", "Dancing Machine", "Let`s Get Married", "Boogie Down" and "Stoned To The Bone". Very recently the audience`s impatient requests for more reggae music has had its effect. Tonight we`ve heard Judy Mowatt`s "I Shall Sing", Al Brown`s "Here I Am Baby", Gregory Isaac`s "Love Is Overdue" as well as the spate of Ken Boothe LP tracks and recent singles.

But despite the fact that the Q club is attempting to bridge the gap with reggae, the club will never attract the ethnic crowd en masse unless a popular sound system is employed and this is extremely unlikely. The fact is that the gap between reggae club music and soul club music has widened with the division and polarization of the two different groups of supporters and their distinctly contrasting social attitudes.
Carl Gayle:
Part 9

BLACK MUSIC 1974

peace

BLACK MUSIC JULY 1974: Vol. 1 / Issue 8

THE REGGAE UNDERGROUND: - PT. 10
Ignored By The Mass Media, Often Beset By Hassles, The Music Scene Of London`s Black Community Is Nevertheless Alive And Grooving. A Six-Page Special Report
By Carl Gayle: -

IN GENERAL, the West Indians who have been in Britain the longest are usually the more affluent, having discarded many of their family ties and cultural traditions. Together with the West Indians of British birth, they generally form this new wave "soul crowd", the black youth of Britain who relate only superficially to African cultural roots. They eat soul food, drive flash cars which they can`t really afford, wear Afros, feign artistic creativity, shop at Bibas, keep "selective soul parties, and attend clubs like the Q and Columbo`s in Carnaby Street.

One of the favourite clubs is Ronnie Scott`s. The only time you hear any reggae at Ronnies is on a Thursday night when the club bursts at the seems with renegades from all the other black clubs you can think of. You even get a sound system crowd.

Scott`s audience is mixed: there are as many whites as blacks. The blacks who go there regularly are those that no longer hold any affection for the reggae scene. They don`t like reggae music and they`d rather not surround themselves with reggae people. They disappear on Thursday nights, they go to the Q.

At three am the lights come on and the music stops. Armed with whistles and boogaloo blues, the baggy pants dudes make it across the block to the Columbo. Situated in Carnaby Street where the infamous Roaring Twenties once was, the Columbo has nevertheless managed to shrug off much of the violent memories of the Twenties. The club has been re-modelled and re-decorated and is now rivalling the Q as the number one soul scene despite the minor consideration the DJ gives to the dudes in the audience with reggae tastes, Those that there are seem satisfied to go along with the concensus of opinion that prefers soul "because it`s more sophisticated".

But this is one argument that has helped to divide the black music scene and polarize it into soul and reggae categories which has led to a breakdown in communication. This breakdown stems fundamentally from the fact that the two groups disagree about the quality and importance of reggae music in comparison to soul music, but there`s little justification for fairness in the lines of comparison.

The lines of communication have been further weakened with the increased momentum of the soul crowd`s aspirations to affluence, and with the reggae crowd`s introversion becoming more grass roots. The young "God Son2 (an affectionate term among the reggae crowd which alludes to belief in rastafarian religious ideals) no longer bothers to knock on the door of the soul crowd`s selective parties. A fter being continuously refused, he`s learnt his lesson. Nowadays he jusy walks right past that funky door on a Saturday night.

The polarization continues. The ethnic reggae crowd have grown out of their tendency towards self destructiveness: the violence has dissipated, The rasts have mellowed with the maturity of their peace and love idealogy and are closer to each other now than they`ve ever been. Bob Marley, Count Ossie, Big Youth, and Gregory Isaacs have shown them who their real enemies are, and these are the artists that have become their heroes regardless of what anyone else thinks.
Carl Gayle:

BLACK MUSIC JULY 1974

peace

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Jah Rastafari

BLACK MUSIC JULY 1974: Vol. 1 / Issue 8

KEN BOOTHE:

JAMAICA VOTES FOR BOOTHE: -
Ken Boothe (Pictured Opposite) Is Currently Jamaica`s Most Popular Singer.
He`s Also Played A Role In The Island`s Politics, As Carl Gayle Explains . . .

At twenty five, Ken Boothe is one of the elite in Jamaican music. Like Toots, or Bob Marley, he is revered in every sector of the music community. And just like the champion athlete Don Quarrie or the master batsman Laurence Rowe, Ken Boothe`s is a household name in Jamaica. The music mad natives speak his praise with fervour and pride. Yet, Boothe is a religious man, in spite of his playboy looks.

"Yes, I`m a rastafarian. I believe that His Majesty Haile Selassie is Earth`s rightful ruler. I believe in him as my God and my King. But I`m not telling anyone to say the same thing. And I`m not the kind of rasta man that doesn`t believe in riding in a plane, or eating certain kinds of food, or saying that I`m not coming to England again because it`s Babylon, no man. And I don`t believe in racialism. Every man is equal and I`m just a rastafarian who believes that the King is my God. I know it!"

As a schoolboy Ken Boothe used to finish runner up every year to Winston Stewart (who later sang with a great rock steady group--the Gaylads) in school singing competitions.

On his way home from Denham Town School (West Kingston) one evening, he heard the voices of two singers who turned out to be Stranger Cole and Roy Panton. They were rehearsing in a local club. When he joined in with the duo the next evening Cole thought Ken was pretty good, so the trio formed a group. That was in 1962 and Ken was only 13. After awhile Roy Panton quit singing with them and at age 15, a year earlier than normal, Ken quit school.

Stranger and Ken recorded a song for the renowned promoter/Sound System man Duke Reid which was never released. At that time Stranger wrote the songs and sang lead. Ken just sort of filled in with the harmonies. Their first record together, "World`s Fair" was issued by Clement Dodd (better known as Sir Coxon or Coxon Dodd). After a little while with Coxon he suggested that Ken did some solo singing and he agreed.

Like many early Jamaican records, Ken`s first solo single "Oo Wee Baby" was sung in a slow, soulful, emotional vein--like the R&B original. The fact that it wasn`t a big seller didn`t discourage Ken or Sir Coxon who both persisted until he recorded one of his own compositions entitled "Train", his first big hit.

Among the other artists on Coxon`s label were the Maytals, the Wailers, the Gaylads, Jackie Opel, Jackie Mittoo, Marcia Griffiths, and Bob Andy. Other groups like the Heptones joined Coxon a little later. One of Boothe`s best recordings is a song that Bob Andy wrote for him called "I Don`t Want To See You Cry". It was just one of Ken`s string of hits which also included "Home", "Moving Away", and in 1967 his international hit "Puppet On A String" which brought him to England for a short tour in the same year.
Carl Gayle:
Part 1

BLACK MUSIC JULY 1974

peace

BLACK MUSIC JULY 1974: Vol. 1 / Issue 8

KEN BOOTHE:

JAMAICA VOTES FOR BOOTHE: - PT. 2
Ken Boothe (Pictured Opposite) Is Currently Jamaica`s Most Popular Singer.
He`s Also Played A Role In The Island`s Politics, As Carl Gayle Explains . . .

Boothe recorded many more hits, with Coxon, including "Feel Good" and the great "Tomorrow", before leaving in 1968 to join Mrs. Sonia Pottinger`s High Note label. His records for her included "Live Good", "Somewhere", "Lady With The Starlight", and "Say You" but except for the latter they weren`t usually up to his best.

Boothe`s most creative period was at Beverlys Studio with promoter/producer Leslie Kong for whom he recorded "Why Babe", "Now I Know", "Your Feeling And Mine", "Drums Of Freedom", "Tell The Children The Truth" and the brilliant "Freedom Street".

Ken`s first record for Beverlys, "Why Babe" in 1968 was written by B. B. Seaton, an ex-Gaylad who has figured as co-writer/producer on many of Ken`s best known songs.

"Ever since I started singing, myself and BB have been working together. When the Gaylads broke up he changed his name from Harry to just BB which was more catchy and he went solo. We prefer to write what I`d call freedom songs which tell people something, or make them more aware of themselves and what`s going on.

"If the Government is not for the masses I try to write songs that will get to the people and give them an idea of what they should do. Songs like `Freedom Street` helped to get the previous Government (Labour) out of power. When Shearer (the then ruling Labour leader) was telling the police to knock down anybody they saw on the streets, we said well we need freedom, we need a free street to walk on:"

The song goes: "It must be a vision, cause there`s no change in sight / I see a big big street, where all men meet / It must be freedom street . . ." And "Freedom Street" spurred the opposition party (PNP--People`s National Party), the present Government, to form a `bandwagon` of musicians with a slogan of liberation. Inevitably Michael Manley, the subsequent PM as leader of the PNP, was presented as Joshua, the man with the rod.

Clancy Eccles was the leader of this bandwagon and his song "Joshua" became their anthem and an enormous hit. Other artists that took part included the Maytals, the Chosen Few, B. B. Seaton, Ernie Smith--and Ken.

"They used almost every Jamaican artist but that was the main group. Then there would be a guest appearance in each parish we went to. It was Clancy Eccles` idea and Manley organised it. We all wanted to get rid of the Labour Government. We didn`t get much money out of it but we didn`t want the country to go down. If Shearer had gotten back into power it would have been really bad. He didn`t do anything for music, he didn`t even enquire about music. So the people voted for PNP because we were supporting them. People don`t know much about politics or politicians but they know us, the musicians.

"The PNP said they would set up a committee to look into the music scene. That has happened but it hasn`t had much effect at the moment. So far they have only taken interest in a certain type of musician and these are the people who are making the money already. Things like the national dance theatre and the cultural folk singers, and calypso are what they`re stressing now. But I like Manley`s government, the Labour Party`s not for the masses".
Carl Gayle:
Part 2

BLACK MUSIC JULY 1974

peace

Great great great work!

Yah Man THANKS and BIG UP.

Lion

BLACK MUSIC JULY 1974: Vol. 1 / Issue 8

KEN BOOTHE:

JAMAICA VOTES FOR BOOTHE: - PT. 3
Ken Boothe (Pictured Opposite) Is Currently Jamaica`s Most Popular Singer.
He`s Also Played A Role In The Island`s Politics, As Carl Gayle Explains . . .

Ken`s first Lp for Trojan, produced by Lloyd Charmers, includes a few tracks like "Thinking", "Suzie Q", and "Hallelujah" which were on his only LP for Byron Lee`s Dynamic label. That album--"BB Seaton Meets The Great Ken Boothe"--signified the teaming up of Ken with producer Lloyd Charmers (who`s real name is Terrell), though not for the first time.

"I knew Lloyd before I started singing. He used to sing in a group called Charmers and the name stuck with him when the group broke up. But I`ve been working with him since 1971. We did `Ain`t No Sunshine` and he brought me `Is It Because I`m Black` and told me that it was a `back street` song in the States. He knew I liked to do message songs. Unfortunately it wasn`t a big hit in Jamaica neither. Jamaican people just aren`t aware of what certain singers are trying to get through to them.

"I admire the Wailers for the messages they get across all the time. And I`ve always liked John Holt, Delroy Wilson, Bob Andy, and now Dennis Brown, he`s great. the singer that influenced me though was Otis Redding."

In the last eight months Boothe has been recording with Lloyd Charmers, B. B. Seaton, and Busty Brown under the collective name of the Messengers. They have a company of their own which will release solo records as well as group efforts. Consequently, each man assists in the arrangement and production of the others` records.

"Jamaican musicians are great but they`re not together. You haven`t got an arranger of real status in JA which is bad because we have so many good singers. The music world recognises good records and people want to hear good arrangements nowadays. I like what John Holt is doing at the moment but people in JA tend to go for too much rubbish and leave the songs with meaning on the shelf. A lot of people prefer to hear a guy talking, y`know!

"And as regards promotion, only Federal Records give you any. And the radio stations want money to play your records, it`s a payola system. Most Jamaican producers can`t afford it. They just hope that when people hear their records in record shops and discos, they`ll buy them. But the discos are playing too much American music. I don`t blame them because the Stateside sounds are better on the whole. But they should try and stress the good Jamaican records".

Ken`s very recent LP, "Let`s Get It On", is an important step in the right direction. The album confirms Ken`s artistic ability and will no doubt ensure a greater degree of commercial success for Boothe than he`s previously had. One of the chief musical successes is the blending of the vocals with the imaginative and tasteful horn and string arrangements for which Lloyd Charmers deserves full praise.

"I think `African Lady` is the track that`ll sell the LP. It`s saying something and the whole thing about it, the mood, the rhythm everything is just nice. It makes you want to dance as soon as you hear it.

"I want to reach the top, I want the whole world to know about Ken Boothe so that people even sing my songs in their own languages. I want to reach the peak of the business so that I can sit down and relax one day y`know! It needs a lot of work but as long as I get the opportunity I think I`ll make it".
Carl Gayle:

BLACK MUSIC JULY 1974

peace

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Jah Rastafari