Forgotten Black British Musical Histories

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ford.anglia

Member
polz said:
as for british hiphop: i quite liked silver bullet at the time, "20 seconds to comply" from '89 almost sounds like grime 15 years befor that was invented (with some imagination) that speedrappin in overdrive over fast hiphouse/breakbeats
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and also on the hip hop tip Caveman...weren't they one of the few (only?) acts around then to actually get props from visiting US rappers at the time

and from completely different genres
also Atmosfear for "Dancin' In Outer Space" alone... still hard to think something this good
was made in the UK

Light of the World for "London Town"

EARLY Level 42 - "Love Meeting Love"/"Instrumental Love"/the first couple of LPs - not more than about a quarter black in membership but thought funky enough for 2 of Earth, Wind and Fire to actually ask to produce their (last decent) record in 1982 before they went pop and it all went horribly wrong
 
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E

Edward

+
I met Tony Thorpe at FWD>> a year or two ago.... seemed like a nice fella.

Rob Gordon = yes.... even more forgotten is Winston Hazel!
Rumour has is they are getting back together.....
 
T

tryptych

waiting for a time
Cymande was the first thing that popped into my mind too... although as matt b says, they're certainly not forgotten by hip-hop/funk heads.

Well worth checking out though.
 
D

Diggedy Derek

Stray Dog
Gunshot were amazing. Listening to Patriot Games the other day, production-wise it stands comparison with Public Enemy. It's so cold and hard. Particularly dramatic is the intro to "World War 3", where they scratch a piece of speech with those words, substituting "three" with the appropriate sample from De La Soul's "Magic Number". It's full of cut and paste joy de vivre, yet the irreverence is somehow troubling, as if they're laughing the face of nuclear apocalypse.
 
STN

STN

sou'wester
What about Merger? I don't really recall anything about them other than quite liking their album when I heard it. I think one of them plays trombone on Poet and the Roots 'Dread Beat and Blood'. I have heard that they didn't fare too well in UK reggae as they were Marxists (?), objected to Rastafarianism and disagreed with repatriation...
 
john eden

john eden

male pale and stale
STN said:
What about Merger? I don't really recall anything about them other than quite liking their album when I heard it. I think one of them plays trombone on Poet and the Roots 'Dread Beat and Blood'. I have heard that they didn't fare too well in UK reggae as they were Marxists (?), objected to Rastafarianism and disagreed with repatriation...
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They sound very interesting! LKJ took (and indeed takes, I think) a similar position...
 
STN

STN

sou'wester
He sure does, and he's also pretty unpopular in some circles because of it isn't he? I've certainly heard him derided as 'studenty' which is ludicrously unfair.

Hang on, there's an allmusic entry - apparently they were criticised for being 'too pop' as well. I probably heard the LP at a time when my 'dread' reggae ear wasn't fully in (I sound like a dick, don't I?), maybe I wouldn't like it so much now...

The guy who played on poet and the roots is called Winston Bennet.

http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:bau36jph71w0~T1
 
john eden

john eden

male pale and stale
I think the accusation of "studenty" could be hurled at any UK reggae bands during the 70s, really.

At least those that toured, because in the main that would mean playing student unions and/or ANL gigs, or big bashes like Marley or Burning Spear coming from JA. But that's not necessarily because of the music, it's because they wouldn't be allowed to play anywhere else.

I think the trajectory of dub poets like Benjamin Zephaniah and LKJ is quite interesting. Poetry, as a form, is still lauded by the powers that be over many others (in the same way that opera is) because of its "improving" cultural powers.

So dub poets end up, whether by accident or design, becoming part of education in a way that singers and MCs do not. Hence LKJ on desert island discs, Zephaniah on kids tv, etc.


Derail alert!
 
C

crackerjack

Well-known member
john eden said:
I think the accusation of "studenty" could be hurled at any UK reggae bands during the 70s, really.

At least those that toured, because in the main that would mean playing student unions and/or ANL gigs, or big bashes like Marley or Burning Spear coming from JA. But that's not necessarily because of the music, it's because they wouldn't be allowed to play anywhere else.
!
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Not really sure where you get this from John. I've seen Aswad and Misty in lots of venues, not all student unions. Likewise Steel Pulse had a significant crossover audience that wasn't just confined to educated white kids.
 
STN

STN

sou'wester
Interesting points, John (I also think they're relevant; I think we're talking in part about how some people end up 'forgotten' while others don't) - side note: I believe The Sun (circa 1983) ran a big picture of Zephaniah with the headline 'Would You Let Your Daughter Go Out With This Man?'. I'm sure now they would laud him as frequently as possible - how times change...

We had an English teacher who played us LKJ's 'Making History' at sixth form and was met with the usual delighted howls of teen derision but actually, she was rather cool. Sorry about that, Miss.

I'm always interested to know if there are any tapes around of a Bristolian reggae group from the 80s called Renegade(?) who Rob Smith played guitar in... Also, does anyone remember Carlton who sang on an EP with Smith and Mighty sometime in the 80s? He also appeared on a fairly weak Bomb The Bass track.
 
C

crackerjack

Well-known member
john eden said:
II think the trajectory of dub poets like Benjamin Zephaniah and LKJ is quite interesting. Poetry, as a form, is still lauded by the powers that be over many others (in the same way that opera is) because of its "improving" cultural powers.

So dub poets end up, whether by accident or design, becoming part of education in a way that singers and MCs do not. Hence LKJ on desert island discs, Zephaniah on kids tv, etc.


Derail alert!
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LOL, that's just reminded me, BBC even had a documentary on the late and very great Michael Smith back when he was still alive. I have a very vague memory of him chattting with (I think) CLR James and deliberatly mis-pronouncing Shakespeare (Shack-es-peer-e)
 
STN

STN

sou'wester
Another forgotten reggae band - Resistance. Rob Smith (of 'and Mighty' fame) was in them, they had a 12" out called Action which was mixed by mad professor. Anyone know anything else?

Sorry, does this belong on Blood and Fire?
 
C

crackerjack

Well-known member
worrior said:
Thanks for all these. Joe Harriot sounds intriguing, will definitely try to track down some of his work.
I didn't see the BBC series on Soul Britannia but was reading about a band they featured called Cymande from the early 70s who also sound like they've also been overlooked in the scheme of things.
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Saw these boys at the Jazz Cafe on Friday night. Blew away all my preconceptions about old geezers reforming after they've had their time - they were absolutely nutcrackingly fantastic. Gig of the year.
 
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