Roots Archives Forum

I was wondering why the UK has the most hard to find LP's, 12's, 7', etc.? Is not Jamaica closer to North and South America or does this have to do with past history?
I can understand why UK reggae collectors could have more HitRun releases than the U.S. just like a U.S. collector can have more Wackies!

More Jamaicans in UK, Jamaica used to be a colony of UK, so there is a cultural connection. The Jamaicans imported reggae, gradually it became known outside of the Carribean contingent, and US already had its own indigenous black music.

Jamaica is a small third world country, records, particularly LPs were a luxury items, so you have both a smaller buying public and less purchases per person.

The oil crises of the early seventies led to many, if not the majority of old tunes being melted down and recycled in Jamaica, this pressure didn't really exist in the UK.

UK and other foreign collectors and dealers have been scouring Jamaica since the seventies, this means any unsold stock that escaped recycling and many collections left the island. Many migrants to the UK also brought their record collections with them, Jamaican producers were exporting their new releases to the UK from the sixties onwards, in some cases most of a pressing run was exported.

Initial UK pressing runs were often bigger than Jamaican runs, in the UK a producer might press 500 or 1,000 copies of a tune, in Jamaica it might be 200.

The Jamaican environment is less forgiving for vinyl, the average used Jamaican disc has received a lot more punishment and therefore a higher percentage of records in Jamaica have probably become unplayable.

The UK got the best of both worlds, Jamaican pressings would be imported and sold as pre releases and were often picked up and issued on UK labels. The UK was a big enough and broad enough market to support all styles of Reggae, and from all countries, Jamaican music buyers had a much narrower focus and therefore less choice.

The UK had superior distribution and more outlets for Reggae.

On a serious point I'm sure some tunes are now easier to find in Japan than the UK, so what goes around comes around.

Interesting piece of fact dubmart, my guess is that the music is now played more and is more demanding in the UK, do you know if now-a-days the same demand exists in JA as it is around the world?

Also the UK boasts the biggest number of trainspotters and obsessive collectors of anything...don't forget that!

Guilty as charged!

Inyaki wrote:Also the UK boasts the biggest number of trainspotters and obsessive collectors of anything...don't forget that!

Hear Hear...Does anyone want to buy a collection of Elvis Commemorative Plates that my father in law has stored in my attic?

PS Before this is deleted as a result of illegal trading, I'm only joking. Although I do have these damn plates in my attic.

Inyaki wrote:Also the UK boasts the biggest number of trainspotters and obsessive collectors of anything...don't forget that!

Think we are way behing the Japanese on that score

seanmd wrote:Inyaki wrote :Also the UK boasts the biggest number of trainspotters and obsessive collectors of anything...don't forget that!

Hear Hear...Does anyone want to buy a collection of Elvis Commemorative Plates that my father in law has stored in my attic?

PS Before this is deleted as a result of illegal trading, I'm only joking. Although I do have these damn plates in my attic.

Yes, it doesnt take much to get posts deleted these days. I think Hans is taking political correctness to the levels of our great UK government

Goodbye Post

Rootsman wrote:Inyaki wrote :Also the UK boasts the biggest number of trainspotters and obsessive collectors of anything...don't forget that!

Think we are way behing the Japanese on that score

Agreed! Japan also has the highest number of reggae posers!