Jamaican singer-songwriter Bob Marley overcomes adversity to become the most famous reggae musician in the world.
Bob Marley's universal appeal, impact on music history and role as a social and political prophet is both unique and unparalleled. Directed by Academy Award-winning director Kevin Macdonald (The Last King of Scotland), MARLEY is the definitive life story of the musician, revolutionary, and legend, from his early days to his rise to international superstardom. Made with the support of the Marley family, the film features rare footage, incredible performances and revelatory interviews with the people that knew him best.
Forty years ago, Bob Marley embarked on a tour of Europe and the United States with The Wailers in support of their Uprising album. The 38-show excursion would be the last for the reggae icon, who succumbed to cancer on May 11, 1981. Marley & The Wailers brought the run to Dortmund, Germany on June 13, 1980 and the concert was filmed for the German live music television program Rockpalast.
They have raged on for forty years, cutting a swath across continents and lighting the fuse of revolutionary thought. From the pressure-cooker ghettos of England to the mighty gates of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, one band has forged an enduring legacy. This is their story.
Founded in the Bronx by Jamaican expat Lloyd ‘Bullwackie’ Barnes in 1976, Wackie’s take on dub and reggae was nothing if not distinctive. Idiosyncratic by nature, and textually lo-fi by necessity, this unique mojo long served as the label’s de facto sonic aesthetic. A protégé of Prince Buster, and a former engineer at Duke Reid’s Treasure Isle label, Barnes’ touch can be felt across dozens of records including sides from Wayne Jarrett, Sugar Minott, Prince Douglas, Horace Andy, Love Joys, and fellow producer, Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry. Released in 1981, the following hour-long documentary, Bullwackie In New York, provides a priceless snapshot of the independent label and the culture surrounding it. Live performances, interviews, studio footage and more.
Gathered together for one night, the legendary names of Reggae and more meet at Fort Charles, Jamaica for a musical event that would reverberate around the world!
Bob Marley and the Wailers entered the newly refurbished Tuff Gong Studios on May 1, 1980 to rehearse songs for the upcoming Uprising tour which starts June 1, 1980 in München, Germany. A film crew is at the rehearsal to film footage for a JBC documentary on Bob Marley and Tuff Gong. Much of the rehearsal was captured on film, and it has become legendary footage.
A documentary covering the life and death of Jamaican reggae musician and cultural icon Peter Tosh. Drawn both from Tosh's "Red X" series of autobiographical tapes that he was recording at the time of his murder and from interviews with other figures in his life.
The Amandla Festival of Unity was a world music festival held at Harvard Stadium in Boston, Massachusetts, on July 21, 1979. The festival was held in an effort to support and celebrate the liberation of South Africa and the on-going efforts of people in Boston to address racism in their families, schools, workplaces and communities. Performers include soul legend Patti LaBelle, jazz pianist Eddie Palmieri, drummer Babatunde Olatunji, the South African band Jabula and comedian Dick Gregory, who gives a 15-minute racially-charged speech before Marley’s performance.
Recorded in California at the Santa Barbara County Bowl, this live concert appearance from Bob Marley and the Wailers was filmed on November 25, 1979. One of the last shows to be recorded before Marley's untimely demise, the gig is a scintillating mix of reggae classics and provides a fitting epitaph to the influential musician. Tracks include "I Shot the Sheriff," "Exodus," "Is This Love" and many more.
This is the never-before-told story of one of the most influential artists ever to come out of Jamaica, Toots Hibbert. It features intimate new performances and interviews with Toots, rare archive from throughout his career, and interviews with contemporaries and well-known admirers including Eric Clapton, Keith Richards, Jimmy Cliff, Bonnie Raitt, Willie Nelson, Marcia Griffiths and Paolo Nutini.
Live performance specially recorded for Whistle Test from the Reggae Concert at the Edinburgh Festival in 1973, featuring The Cimarons, Winston Groovy, Dennis Alcapone, The Marvels, Nicky Thomas and The Pioneers.
An archive celebration of great reggae performances filmed in the BBC Studios, drawn from programmes such as The Old Grey Whistle Test, Top of the Pops and Later... with Jools Holland, and featuring the likes of Bob Marley and the Wailers, Gregory Isaacs, Desmond Dekker, Burning Spear, Althea and Donna, Dennis Brown, Buju Banton and many more.
The second live album by Brazilian alternative rock band Charlie Brown Jr.
This feature length documentary charts the story of the great Bunny ‘Striker’ Lee. A legend himself, there’s not a lot of pioneers of roots and reggae that he didn’t work with, becoming the go-to producer for that dub sound coming out of Jamaica in the sixties and seventies, further cementing his legacy when he started licensing his productions straight to London labels. Diggory Kenrick’s doco calls on not only Lee himself to tell the story, but features the likes of U Roy, Dennis Alcapone, Lee “Scratch” Perry, Sly and Robbie, Johnny Clarke and Johnny Holt among others.
Lesha finds out reggae artist Domino is holding dance auditions in the city for his next music video, and the competition is anything but irie.