Reggae

"'At least half of every programme I do should be filled by reggae records..' (Peel, 27 October 1980)"

"'Life would be even more of a bleak business than it is already without the Regs.' (1980)"

Peel and Reggae
John Peel had a profound love of reggae and was one of the foremost promoters of black music throughout the majority of his Radio 1 career, despite erroneous claims to the contrary by Julie Burchill among others. Many discovered Bob Marley, Culture, Misty, Steel Pulse, Dr Alimantado, Lee 'Scratch' Perry, Scientist, and The Mad Professor through John, not forgetting Linton Kwesi Johnson, Benjamin Zephaniah, the late Michael Smith and so many more.

It seems beyond reasonable dispute that his fascination with the genre started at the end of the 1960. We know he owned some early reggae as it came to light when searching for a Little Richard cover - he played an unidentified track by Carl Bryan on Treasure Island from 1969.

thumb|right|250px|[[Andy Capp: Pop A Top (7 inch) Treasure Isle UK Peel's first reggae play was later a Peelenium choice for 1969. It also turned up in John Peel's Record Box.]]

And in the course of the 04 October 2001 show, he is somewhat miffed by the inaccuracies in a new book on reggae he has just received, which, apart from calling him an "ageing ex-hippy" with an "abrasively left of centre programme", minimises his playing of reggae in the punk era. Peel reminds the author, amongst other things, that he began to promote reggae on his show Top Gear in 1969, and proudly spins the first one he played, Pop A Top by Andy Capp:


 * "There haven't been many better records than that, in fact."

As Peel had earlier recalled to John Walters, the record actually came into his possession by chance at a time when the primary audience for reggae in Britain outside the Caribbean community were skinheads, and playing it on Top Gear had been viewed as a kind of betrayal by some of the programme's listeners as some skinheads tended to punch hippies at this time:


 * "I think it was actually sent to someone else to be perfectly honest with you ... and it slipped by mistake into my record collection. ... I remember taking it home and playing it to my wife, and we both thought really, 'This is just such a wonderful record.' And I played it on the radio – and the response was not very positive. I mean, people wrote in letters ... "Why have you turned your back on us' after all these years, or after all this year, or however long it was. Because people saw this as being the enemy’s music being played within their little sacrosanct area."

Peel's championing of reggae was criticised by some hippies and then some punks, but the more hostile the reaction, the more Peel would play it, and the juxtaposition of different genres of music on his show inspired groups such as the Clash to experiment with different styles. In fact, JP's somewhat bullish attitude to the genre is comparable with his adoration for the Fall, in that he could not understand why some people did not like it.

Peel's Reggae Sessions
(Main article: Reggae Sessions)

Peel's first reggae session, broadcast on 26 December 1970, was by the Rudies. Although this wasn't viewed by Peel and Walters as a great success, it was followed by many others, from Bob Marley & The Wailers to Dreadzone, including nine from Misty In Roots.

Misty and British Reggae
In The Peel Detective, an article in The Guardian (October 12, 2005), Jon Dennis reprints a list of twenty albums formerly chosen by Peel as being his favourites (see also Top 20 Albums). The majestic Misty in Roots are number 5 with Live At Counter Eurovision:

thumb|250px|right|[[Misty In Roots - Intro/Mankind from Live At The Counter Eurovision]]

"'Misty were not even popular among some reggae purists, as they were based in Britain and not Jamaica. A quote from Live at the Counter Eurovision was included on the order of service at Peel's funeral: 'When we trod this land, we walk for one reason ... to try to help another man think for himself. The music of our hearts is roots music, music which recalls history, because without the knowledge of your history, you cannot turn in your destiny: the music about the present, because if you are not conscious about the present, you're like a cabbage in this society'.'"

The track also appears among the eight choices on John's Desert Island Discs. Introducing it, Peel said:

"'The start of this sums up, I like to think anyway, if there is an ethic of anything we do on the Radio One programme, this describes it.'"

In fact John was a great fan of British reggae - Misty, Aswad, Steel Pulse, Matumbi, Basement 5, Benjamin Zephaniah, Linton Kwesi Johnson, Talisman, Black Roots were all played regularly and many did sessions. There were more like Carnastoan, Reggae Regular, Capital Letters and Icarus whose contribution has been less noted but they play some great and deep reggae. For a while punk and reggae were locked in unity on the Frontline. The Clash owed a great debt to their roots in Notting Hill squatting movement and Don Letts influence was strong as a DJ at early punk gigs. The story goes as no punk was available on vinyl they had to play reggae. The Slits and The Ruts were as reggae as punk got. Punky Reggae Party was as punky as reggae got. It is arguable that his consistent playing of the genre alongside punk that paved the way for the blue beat / ska revival of the late 70s. Many 2-Tone groups such as the Specials, Selecter and Beat recorded sessions.The Anti Nazi League and Rock Against Racism united punks and rastas in anti-fascism and drove the Nazis off the streets of England. Then Punk and Reggae was the soundtrack to the riots of angry youth in Brixton, Toxteth and St Pauls. LKJ added the commentary. Also combining reggae and punk was the work of producer Adrian Sherwood and his On-U Sound label, taking in Prince Far I, Creation Rebel, the New Age Steppers, Mark Stewart and African Head Charge, among others.

Later Peel championed the fusion of Dub with other traditions - Black Star Liner, Zion Train, Asian Dub Foundation and Dreadzone. He was also keen on crossover - when UK Reggae hit the mainstream and seemed to like helping hits on their way - he played Eddy Grant, Laurel and Hardy, Musical Youth, UB40, Smiley Culture, and Apache Indian. He was also pleased when Jamaican reggae was top of the pops - he was over the moon when Althea and Donna took Up Town Top Ranking to the top and when Sugar Minott had an unexpected hit with Good Thing Going in the early 80s.

'John Peel was quoted as saying: "If anyone tells you that there is no such thing as good British reggae, first tell them that they are a herbert and then listen to Black Roots." John Peel's Radio 1 session, aired on 27 May, really helped the cause, with Confusion, What Them A Do, Chanting For Freedom and The Father performed live.'

Festive Fifty
In 1976, Bob Marley & The Wailers featured in the first Festive Fifty at No.32 with No Woman No Cry.

The 1977 Festive Fifty, chosen by Peel himself, featured many reggae tracks from the previous year: Althea and Donna with crossover hit Uptown Top Ranking at number 2; Culture, Marley, Peter Tosh, and Jah Woosh were also present. King Short Shirt represented the calypso sound also popular in Jamaica at the time.

thumb|250px|right|Jays & Ranking Trevor - Truly Chosen by Peel as #13 in the [[1977 Festive Fifty]]

Moreover, at Number 13 was the mysterious J.Ayes and Rankin Trevor with Truly. There seems to be some confusion surround the actual name of the artists behind this classic Reggae track. Original scans of an early 1977 releases of the vinyl show the artist as being "J. Ayes and Ranking Trevor", but a more official 1978 release of the song lists the artist as "JAYES". Despite this evidence to the contrary, it seems as though the popular Jamaican trio The Jays were actually behind the song. Documented as working on the song with Ranking Trevor, the song appears on many compilation albums along with another popular collaboration Ya Ho. It seems highly likely that the early pressings of Truly contained a simple misprint that even survived attempts to correct it, providing more confusion for collectors.

Subsequent entries in the charts were sporadic, notable exceptions being the Nautral Ites' Picture On The Wall (1983 Festive Fifty) and Culture's Lion Rock, taken from one of their Peel sessions (2000 Festive Fifty, All-Time).

Peelenium
thumb|250px|right|Lee Perry - Croaking Lizard A [[Peelenium choice for 1976]]

Popatop is there in the Peelenium in 1969. Then from 1973 to 1979 there is a reggae track featured almost every year: The Wailers with Duppy Conqueror in 1973, Burning Spear with Slavery Days in 1975, Croaking Lizard by The Upsetters in 1976, Shoplifting by Slits in 1977 [reggae or not? discuss!], See Them A-Come - Culture in 1978, and Mankind by Misty in 1979. Then its Culture with Lion Rock in 1982, and their Capture Rasta in 1986. The Wayne Wonder & Cutty Ranks version of Lambada, frequently played by Peel at live events, was selected for 1991. Dreadzone feature with Zion Youth in 1995.

Home Truths and Reggae
Dub poet Benjamin Zephaniah stood in for John on Home Truths and one of his recurring themes on that programme were stories about sightings of Haile Selassie, Ras Ta Fari, whilst he lived in exile in England.

Reggae in the Record Box
John Peel's Record Box of 142 singles contained several Lee 'Scratch' Perry productions from the 70s. It also had a copy of Popatop. The Yami Bolo record was based on the Them song 'Richard Cory'.

thumb|250px|I-Royals - Coronation St. thumb|250px|right|Lee Scratch Perry - Bafflin' Smoke Signal


 * Andy Capp / Reco: Popatop / The Lion Speaks (7")(Treasure Island) (1969)
 * Izzy Royal (aka I-Royals): Coronation St / Coronation Dub (7") WEA (1983)
 * Lee Perry: Bafflin' Smoke Signal / Black Smoke Signal (7") Black Ark (1978)
 * Max Romeo: Sipple Out Deh' / Revelation (7") Upsetters (1976)
 * Paul Blake & The Blood Fire Posse: Every Posse Get Flat / Flat out (7") Studio Works (1984)
 * Upsetters: Bucky Skank / Yucky Skank (7") Down Town (1973)
 * Upsetters: Key Card / Domino Game (7") DL International (1975)
 * Versalites / Lee Perry & The Upsetters: Cutting Razor / Black Belt Jones (7") DL International) (1974)
 * Yami Bolo: Richer Than Cory / Richer Than Cory (version) (7") Jamaica International (1998)

Lost gems?
Keith was a friend who is credited with providing imports with off centre holes and dodgy pressings that improved the wobble. He must have been someone trusted to pass on the tracks that caught his hear and then Peel gave them an outing. Many remain obscure Jamaican imports and appear to be lost to the internet but have been saved for posterity by this wiki. A listing here of people's favourites and location on wiki may point people in the right direction for some hidden gems.