Monday Long Song

Anita Ward went to No.1 on both sides of the Atlantic in 1979 with 'Ring My Bell' and, before the year was out, UK lovers rock trio Blood Sisters put out a bass driven cover of the massive hit. They really were blood sisters too - Ouida, Moira and Yvonne McCarthy. Keeping the family theme going, the band on the recording consisted of five brothers - Errol, E. Lloyd, Jerry, Trevor and Paul Robinson, who would go on to issue a couple of albums of their own in the early 1980s, under the One Blood moniker. E. Lloyd Robinson's bassline is even more prominent on the flipside of the 'Ring My Bell' 12", titled, not unreasonably, 'One Blood Dub'. Blood Sisters issued a mere handful of singles during their recording career, though, as of late last year at least, they are still performing in and around London.

I found 'One Blood Dub' lurking on an old hard drive in an anonymous folder of similar vinyl rips. I've no idea where I got it from and in truth the contents are a bit of a mixed bag, but it does contain one or two other dubs worthy of attention that I might swing back to somewhere down the line.

One Blood Dub

Monday Long Song

The second ever single on the Rough Trade label featured Augustus Pablo's divine melodica drifting across the Rockers All Stars rhythm of Horace Andy's 'Mr Bassie'. The 1978 release was hugely influential amongst the the nascent post-punk counter loiterers back in the day and by all accounts is one of Geoff Travis's personal favourites. To the best of my knowledge 'Pablo Meets Mr Bassie' was only ever available as a 7", though let's offer a tip of the titfer to the anonymous online DJ who concocted this extended mix.

Augustus Pablo - Pablo Meets Mr Bassie

Friday Photo #26

My mate and I have been going to FolkEast for several years now and, creatures of habit that we are, we always pitch our tents next to each other in the same location, backed right up against a wire fence, facing out across the sea of canvas and campervans. It's a good spot to be in, on the very edge of the site a decent walk from the hustle and bustle of the arena, within reasonable staggering distance of a block of toilets and showers, but far enough away from them that we aren't affected by the inevitable occasional queues and smells. When we arrived on site last Thursday afternoon, on a whim I suggested that we pitch in the usual place, but facing the other way for a change. I don't quite know why it's taken all these years for one of us to make what in retrospect seems such a glaringly obvious suggestion, but the glorious view that greeted us as we crawled, bleary-eyed, from our respective tents on Friday morning ensured that we'll never pitch facing into the camping site again.

King Tubby - Dub With a View

Monday Long Song

Here's the great Augustus Pablo, riffing on Leroy Sibbles' 'Guiding Star' riddim, which goes back to the 1971 Heptones single of the same name. 'Classical Illusion' was produced as a 7" single by Gussie Clarke in 1975, with this extended version appearing four years later. 'Guiding Star' was later covered by New Age Steppers on their 'Action Battlefield' LP in 1981.

Augustus Pablo - Classical Illusion

Red Gold & Green #28 - Mikey Dread at the Controls

There we were, Dad and I, wandering around a school fete in Leytonstone forty nine years ago, when I spotted the Hackney Speedway stall tucked away in the corner of the playground. It was a tanner a go to sit on a bike and pretend for a moment to be a speedway rider. I joined the queue and waited my turn. A few minutes later as I sat in the saddle, oblivious to the hubbub around me, twisting the throttle and dreaming my dreams, a shutter clicked and, before I knew it, I was on the front page of the local newspaper. What can I say? It was a slow news week.

'African Anthem (The Mikey Dread Show Dubwise)' is an album I'd happily recommend to anyone with even a passing interest in reggae. The LP does what it says on the tin, it being a joyous studio recreation of Mikey's famous Jamaican Broadcasting Company radio show of the late 1970s, complete with a selection of his own unique madcap jingles. The music was written, arranged and produced by Mikey and features a veritable who's who of 70s reggae among the cast of players - Sly Dunbar, Robbie Shakespeare, Ansel Collins, King Tubby, Augustus Pablo and Vin Gordon all contribute. 'African Anthem' was released in 1979 and has undergone several reissues in the years since, the latest of which apparently adds another half a dozen tunes to the original, virtually perfect, ten track running order.

Dread at the Controls - Headline News

Red Gold & Green #4 - The Aggrovators

Last week was a hot one. Throughout most of Wednesday, as temperatures soared through the 30° mark, I hunkered down indoors with the curtains closed - it was just too much for me. In the evening though, all hell broke loose in the form of a brief, but very violent thunderstorm, which left the air blissfully cool when it had passed. As the storm raged (and did it ever rage) I stood at the window firing off ten shots at a time, trying to capture a photograph of a lightning bolt. It's a tricky business with a little point and press camera, but my patience was rewarded with these two consecutive shots (click on them to enlarge).

The Aggrovators were one of the great session bands of reggae's golden age, working extensively with producer Bunny Lee throughout the 1970s and 1980s. The band practised something of a revolving door policy, with legends such as Robbie Shakespeare, Sly Dunbar, Jackie Mittoo and Tommy McCook all passing through the ranks at one time or another. 44 of The Aggrovators' dubs, mixed by the late King Tubby, have recently been compiled by VP Records as 'Dubbing at King Tubby's'. Here, from that collection, is the appropriately titled 'Thunder Rock', which was originally released in 1976 on the flipside of Cornell Campbell's 'Have Mercy Oh Jah'.

The Aggrovators - 'Thunder Rock'

Saturday Scratch #48 - Augustus Pablo

Saturday Scratch, an occasional series that shines a light on a selection with a Lee 'Scratch' Perry connection.

Earlier this week, the venerable 1001 Songs posted an utterly indispensable Augustus Pablo classic, which I highly recommend that you check out here - your week just isn't complete without it. This got me rummaging around for a choice Pablo cut to feature back here at my place. When it came down to it, one tune stuck out above the rest, 'Vibrate Onn', recorded with The Upsetters at the Black Ark in the Summer of 1977. There are a number of subtly different mixes available of this dense, far-out piece of oddness, but this particular uploader has kindly extended the blissful experience by appending the equally groovy flipside, 'Dub Onn'.

There's No Point to Wanna Comb Your Hair When It's Grey and Thinning

One evening, when I was 12, I persuaded Mum to put my long, thick, straight hair in curlers. I've always hated my shapeless hair and, for a couple of hours at least, it was fun to see it tumbling in Bolanesque corkscrews. The following morning, of course, it had dropped back to boring, straight normality. It's hard to believe that Dad didn't grab his camera and record the event.

Much as I disliked my boring Barnet, having it cut was the worst. Dad first took me to the local barber's shop when I was four. I was plonked on a plank resting across the arms of the chair and told to sit dead still while the barber clipped and buzzed around my bonce. It was easier said than done. I twitched and I squirmed, particularly when he got anywhere my right ear, which for some reason set off a convulsion down my spine, leading to stern looks from the barber and a stern word from Dad. My left ear was fine, but that right ear always seemed ultra-sensitive to the slightest noise and it was only years later that I learned to control my involuntary reaction.

When the family relocated to Ipswich in 1975, I cast around my new classmates for a recommended local barber. 'Go and see Kenny,' someone suggested, 'Kenny Cuff the dancing barber'. It sounded unlikely, but was actually true. Instead of ambling around the chair while he snipped and trimmed, like your average barber does, Kenny performed a continuous soft shoe shuffle as he worked and was something of a local legend. His salon was a meeting place for a handful of old retired Suffolk gents, who rarely seemed to get their hair cut, but treated the place as a hang-out, smoking cigarettes and drinking endless cups of tea all day. They all thought my London accent was a hoot and good-naturedly sent me up something rotten throughout every visit, especially whenever I twitched as Kenny clicked his scissors close to my right ear.

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Here's the late great Mikey Dread with what's probably his best known tune, 1977's 'Barber Saloon'. The uploader has also kindly included the dub version, 'Lagga the Barber', featuring King Tubby at the controls.

Saturday Scratch #47 - Sonny and Debby

Following yesterday's humidity-fest and little of the predicted overnight rain to cool things down, this morning dawned thick, mild and muggy. We had a coffee crisis looming in the house. We were almost out of paper filters and would never have made it through the weekend, so I dashed off across the marsh to pick up fresh supplies from town. It took me a little under an hour to walk there and back and I returned soaked in sweat, looking like the proverbial drowned rat, but after a refreshing shower and with a brew in hand, I'm ready to face the day.

Here are Sonny & Debby from 1978 with 'Sweat Suit', which, depending on your point of view, is either a parody of, or an homage to the contemporary hit 'Uptown Top Ranking'. A particular tip of the hat to the uploader of this one, for creating a custom discomix of the tune by segueing into Scratch's echo-laden dub version.

Saturday Scratch #43 - The Artibella Rhythm

The ska original of 'Artibella' appeared on Studio One in 1965, credited to Ken Booth & Stranger Cole (here). Boothe released his hit solo version of the song, produced by Phil Pratt, in 1970 (here).

In 1972 Lee 'Scratch' Perry produced his own interpretation of the 'Artibella' rhythm with The Upsetters, initially bringing in Milton Henry and Junior Byles to voice 'This World' over it and releasing the results under the moniker King Medious. Several further adaptations of the rhythm would follow.

Hot on the heels of the duet, Byles was back behind the vocal mic alone, creating his classic reading of 'Fever'. At around the same time, the song was also voiced to good effect by Susan Cadogan.

The versions poured out of the Black Ark. Here's Jah Lion with 'Hay Fever'.

Jah T voiced 'Lick the Pipe Peter', with Augustus Pablo's melodica accompaniment, though I prefer Pablo's instrumental 'Hot and Cold'.

There are more, but let's conclude this brief whistle-stop tour with a typically bonkers dubwise excursion on the 'Artibella' rhythm, 'Fever Grass Dub'.

Aswad at the Notting Hill Carnival

It's a warm, sunny day for those who are out and about in West London, enjoying the Notting Hill Carnival. I've been to a few Carnivals over the years, most memorably in 1983 when Aswad played a storming set, later released on LP as 'Live and Direct'. The band may now be best remembered by a wider audience for their 'pop' hits, commencing with 'Don't Turn Around' in 1984, but in the previous eight years Aswad released a series of consistently strong roots reggae albums and were an exceptional live outfit to boot. Here's a shot I took from the crowd that day in 1983 and 'African Children' from the gig, featuring a wicked 'live' dub section.

Stevie and the Breadwinners

Here's a lost treasure from the Black Ark, dating back to the late 1970's.....hold it, hold it.....rewind selector. I cannot tell a lie, this very fine tune actually eminates from a group of musicians based in Manchester and was recorded at The Bakery Studio in Stockport circa 2013. Would you adam & eve it?

The Breadwinners, lead by Alan Redfern, appear to be the studio's house band and on 'Pass It To You' they accompany Stevie, about whom, regretfully, I can tell you nothing. Check out several more remarkable recordings from The Bakery here.