The NME and Sounds (UK music magazines) even had their own reggae pages. And so it was in 1977, when the “two sevens clash” - Babylon i.e. England was to disintegrate. This was also going to be an apocalyptic year not just in reggae terms, but also in music, fashion and society in general, as white and black street culture found itself with the same aspirations for possibly the first and last time.Punk and Reggae? Where's the connection? Laid back, bass driven tunes, versus hell for leather tinny thrash. Mystical, rasta, ganja based beats versus 'shouty' amphetamine driven nihilism. Well the answers in the lyrics. Songs about oppression by authority, injustices and the rule of law - remember this was the age of the SPG and draconian laws such as SUS - and other broad social issues. One thing you could almost guarantee was that if somebody was seen to be oppressed or a case of police abuse of power and injustice had taken place, there would be a punk band and a reggae band singing about it by the end of the week. An example of this would be the Ruts’ "Jah War" or "Reggae Fi Peach" by LKJ, both songs about the attacks by the SPG at an Anti Nazi League march in 1979 that led to the death of New Zealander Blair Peach and severe injuries to Clarence Baker, a prominent member of the People Unite collective based in Southall London.
Further connections between Punk and Reggae came about because of two of Punk’s most influential figures, Johnny Rotten and The Clash. Each claimed Reggae was very much a part of their musical scene when growing up, and each vied to say they loved it more than the other as an influence. Both camps also visited Jamaica with two very different experiences. For The Clash it was a heavy trip, about absorbing and learning about the music. For Rotten it was slightly different; he went with Don Letts, and spliffed out to sound systems and generally had a good time at Virgin's expense in true Rotten style! It was, however, The Clash (Whose name is touted to be derived from Cultures’ 'Two Sevens Clash') who put "their money where their mouths were" literally with their interpretation of Junior Murvin’s reggae classic "Police and Thieves" which appeared on their first album, (It had caught their imagination with its lyrics that radiated the punk anti establishment ethos). They also went on to release the excellent bargain 10" EP / album "Black Market Clash", the front cover of which depicts a 'young rasta' (apparently Don Letts ) facing off the police during a riot. This contained a scattering of reggae covers. With a great punk, but hardly reggae at all version of "Pressure Drop", they didn’t want to compete too directly with the brilliant Toots and the Maytals’ original, but there was also the more traditional reggae sound of, “Armagideon Time / Justice Tonight” that fully exploited the one-drop riddim - both were workings of Willie Williams’ "Armagideon Time". They also toured and worked with Mikey Dread, who helped produce their sprawling triple, sometimes patchy, LP "Sandinista" and #12 UK chart single Bankrobber, on which he appeared on the B side, toasting over the riddim for Rockers Galore.
Other punk bands that incorporated reggae influences into their music successfully include all girl outfit The Slits, with a punked up reggae version of Marvin Gaye’s 'I Heard It Through TheGrapevine' and Dennis Browns 'Man Next Door'.
The very much underrated The Ruts gave us the aforementioned 'Jah War' and 'Love in Vain', both original songs, while Jah Wobble - the bassist in Rotten’s immediate project after the demise of the Pistols, PIL (Public Image Limited) - would use pounding reggae styled bass lines on many a tune, and as Haile Unlikely vs. the Steel Leg, with the help of Don Letts, Keith Levene & Vince Bracken aka 'The Steel Leg', recorded his own cool 12". Other tunes worth a mention are 'Nice & Sleazy' by the Stranglers and the incendiary cover of Marley's "Johnny Was" by Stiff Little Fingers from their 'Inflammable Material' album released in 1979. The song’s lyrics were altered subtly to reflect the troubles in their home town of Belfast at the time. There were, however, some real best forgotten failures too. The Members 'Offshore Banking Business', some dire Patti Smith cod reggae, the Unwanted's over the top 'Secret Police' and ATV's absolutely awful 'Love Lies Limp'.This bond between the two differing genres was cemented further as bands like Misty in Roots and Steel Pulse appeared regularly on shared stages at Rook Against Racism gigs with bands like Generation X and The Ruts. Steel Pulse also did a full UK tour as support for The Stranglers. The Ruts first single was released on Misty's 'People United' record label, and in my opinion it is they who were the best of the bunch at really capturing the feel and power of reggae - especially as it came without the help of any top reggae producer, unlike some.
This was not the first time reggae music had been adopted by white music fans. Skinheads at the end of the 60's and into the early 70's were into reggae, via the Trojan label, rocksteady and ska - before the look and style were stolen - but this time round, as Reggae began to enjoy a revival in the UK, it resulted in reggae acts charting more regularly and the genre as a whole becoming more popular. At the end of 1977 the way had been paved with the infectious, surprise UK #1 single, Althea & Donna’s 'Uptown Ranking', the success of which helped finance Lightning Records’ punk excursions. With the gradual demise of Punk, the Reggae revival still continued into the early 1980s, with groups like Black Uhuru, Sugar Minott, Steel Pulse, Aswad, and to some extent Musical Youth. There was also the multicultural mix of UB40, not to mention the 2 Tone explosion keeping Reggae in the charts. The Grammy Awards even introduced the Best Reggae Album category in 1985, which was won that year by Black Uhuru's Anthem LP, on the strength of this 'revival'. As with everything in life some people say that this 'bond' between the two was not always a good thing. Apparently Steel Pulse do not look back too fondly on their days gigging with the punks, where, in their opinion, the punk audience was vulgar and unappreciative. Well, if spitting at each other was the order of the day then, they may have a point about them being vulgar! Lee Perry, who it has to be said, has fallen out with just about everybody he has ever worked is quoted in David Katz book 'People Funny Boy: The Genius of Lee 'Scratch' Perry' as saying he wanted the Clash to admit they had ruined "Police & Thieves" with their cover. I do know a few people who would agree with his comment, but I actually quite like it. I know it's not a reggae cover in the style of "Armageddon Time", but then shouldn't a cover version try to do something different? After all we don't want a lot of mind numbing karaoke versions.
Lloyd Bradley in his book 'Bass Culture', also compares the linkup between punk and reggae as a very unequal partnership, where the punks enjoyed a couple of years of rebellion, gained credibility from reggae and gave nothing back, before heading back to their comfortable white lives, leaving black youth in the mire.
I do feel this statement is a rather flawed view, as reggae was regarded in some quarters as something of a novelty rather than credible at the beginning of the 70's, with its many, many covers of already popular hits and with a lot of tunes being remixed with the addition of strings to make them appeal more to European tastes. Punk however was embracing reggae in all its rootsy, conscious magnificence, and helping to bring this into the main stream and thus introduce a white audience to the world of true reggae and opening up new avenues for these artists. After all if people like The Clash had not covered these tunes and the likes of Don Letts had not incorporated the two musical forms - from really opposite ends of the spectrum but with this strong lyrical connection - into his DJ sets would I be here writing this today? Where are the reggae versions of "Anarchy" or "London Calling"? Would the likes of Dr Alimantado's album "Best Dressed Chicken" be as renowned or sold as well? I would say it was reggae that got more out of it than punk.
After the punk flame blew itself out the 2-Tone craze emerged, which mixed both punk and reggae, mainly in the form of ska, together. Some say that this actually hurt reggae more than helped it, because once bands with white members like The Specials got signed, labels who were reacting to Bob Marley's death as the end for roots reggae, dropped a lot of black artists as fast as they could. Both punk and 2-Tone were short lived affairs, and the music scene in the UK at that time was changing quickly with lots of new styles and fashions, and A& R men were on the
look out the next big cash cow to milk dry, no matter who or what you where. Perhaps with this in mind it was too much to expect reggae to grow and become all conquering as it was most probably regarded as just another fad, and as Rotten once said that the A&R men 'just didn't understand that it was a whole country's music rather than a single 'genre'.
Rotten- approved acts like Tappa Zukie, Big Youth etc - have slowly filtered through to many white music fans tastes today, but at the expense of a lot of important artists by whom the mainstream have only heard one or two tunes. People like Dennis Brown, for example did so much more for reggae (as is mentioned in his biography featured on this blog last May), in a lot of his songs he voiced, strong social and political injustices, but is only really remembered for his struggle to find true love tune 'Money in my Pocket'. So Rotten's involvement in reggae music has had a definite impact on how we see reggae today, and some of this is, I have to agree, is negative as well as positive, but then every journey or path is not without its down sides.
It is also said that many of the punk bands made elementary mistakes in their attempts at playing reggae by hitting the after beat on the one and three instead of the two and the four for example (this is also mentioned in Bradley's book) which explains why they attracted some ridicule and criticism from Jamaicans. Jerry Dammers said that he originally wanted The Specials to play a punk / reggae mix in the style of the Clash, but found it too hard to get the right sound, so this then led them to ska, which blended well with the pace of Punk. Now however these playing mistakes have been corrected and non Jamaican drummers are even giving classes on the net on how to play the various drumbeats. Also artists like the Italian Alberto Dascola aka Alborosie play reggae so authentically that it even sells big in Jamaica.
I do feel this statement is a rather flawed view, as reggae was regarded in some quarters as something of a novelty rather than credible at the beginning of the 70's, with its many, many covers of already popular hits and with a lot of tunes being remixed with the addition of strings to make them appeal more to European tastes. Punk however was embracing reggae in all its rootsy, conscious magnificence, and helping to bring this into the main stream and thus introduce a white audience to the world of true reggae and opening up new avenues for these artists. After all if people like The Clash had not covered these tunes and the likes of Don Letts had not incorporated the two musical forms - from really opposite ends of the spectrum but with this strong lyrical connection - into his DJ sets would I be here writing this today? Where are the reggae versions of "Anarchy" or "London Calling"? Would the likes of Dr Alimantado's album "Best Dressed Chicken" be as renowned or sold as well? I would say it was reggae that got more out of it than punk.
After the punk flame blew itself out the 2-Tone craze emerged, which mixed both punk and reggae, mainly in the form of ska, together. Some say that this actually hurt reggae more than helped it, because once bands with white members like The Specials got signed, labels who were reacting to Bob Marley's death as the end for roots reggae, dropped a lot of black artists as fast as they could. Both punk and 2-Tone were short lived affairs, and the music scene in the UK at that time was changing quickly with lots of new styles and fashions, and A& R men were on the
look out the next big cash cow to milk dry, no matter who or what you where. Perhaps with this in mind it was too much to expect reggae to grow and become all conquering as it was most probably regarded as just another fad, and as Rotten once said that the A&R men 'just didn't understand that it was a whole country's music rather than a single 'genre'.Rotten- approved acts like Tappa Zukie, Big Youth etc - have slowly filtered through to many white music fans tastes today, but at the expense of a lot of important artists by whom the mainstream have only heard one or two tunes. People like Dennis Brown, for example did so much more for reggae (as is mentioned in his biography featured on this blog last May), in a lot of his songs he voiced, strong social and political injustices, but is only really remembered for his struggle to find true love tune 'Money in my Pocket'. So Rotten's involvement in reggae music has had a definite impact on how we see reggae today, and some of this is, I have to agree, is negative as well as positive, but then every journey or path is not without its down sides.
It is also said that many of the punk bands made elementary mistakes in their attempts at playing reggae by hitting the after beat on the one and three instead of the two and the four for example (this is also mentioned in Bradley's book) which explains why they attracted some ridicule and criticism from Jamaicans. Jerry Dammers said that he originally wanted The Specials to play a punk / reggae mix in the style of the Clash, but found it too hard to get the right sound, so this then led them to ska, which blended well with the pace of Punk. Now however these playing mistakes have been corrected and non Jamaican drummers are even giving classes on the net on how to play the various drumbeats. Also artists like the Italian Alberto Dascola aka Alborosie play reggae so authentically that it even sells big in Jamaica.
Today both Reggae & Punk are underground with a small band of loyal and dedicated followers. It is the other 'black rebel music' that reigns supreme, Hip Hop, which has also lent itself at times towards Reggae and the harder edged sounds of Punk. Dreads and spiky hair are more commonplace now, even David Beckham made the 'Mohican' trendy for a while, but in the seventies they marked you out as a militant and a rebel. Punk and reggae still share a bond today, with UK independent record label Rockers Revolt, who built a strong reputation last year for releasing quality reggae based LP's, announcing that they intend to release (early this year) an album by up and coming punk upstarts The Steady Boys. Also Jamaican artists such as Buju Banton, who linked up and recorded with modern US punks Rancid, and Morgan Heritage who toured with NOFX and Floggin' Molly, have both commented that their albums have been influenced by these bands time – a symptomatic sign of UK rock's overall decline on the world stage...maybe? -. So although not the major force it once was for a few years at least reggae, with the help of the punk scene worked well together, and, hopefully, broadened many people's musical horizons.
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