THE REUNION - ISLAND RECORDS (320kbs-m4a/94mb/41mins)
BBC Radio 4 broadcast: 4th September 2022
Chris Blackwell first started Island Records in Jamaica in 1959 and launched some of the biggest and most influential artists across the musical spectrum. U2, Cat Stevens, Roxy Music, Fairport Convention and Free were all signed to Island, but it was the label's unique connection to Jamaica that helped popularise ska and reggae music throughout the world, as well as Jamaican born artists like Grace Jones, and British bands with links to the Caribbean such as Steel Pulse and Aswad.
Bob Marley, Toots and the Maytals, Jimmy Cliff, Burning Spear, and Sly and Robbie, all took refuge on Island - a record label that catered proudly for those who wanted to explore their creativity in an independent way.
Joining Kirsty Wark are Island Records founder, Chris Blackwell; Grammy winning Jimmy Cliff, the singer who became a star after the landmark film The Harder They Come; Mykaell Riley who was a founder member of British reggae act Steel Pulse; pioneer Jamaican ska musician Owen Gray; and Marcia Griffiths, a member of the I Threes who supported Bob Marley and the Wailers for many years, and whose hit Young, Gifted and Black, with Bob Andy, became an anthem for young Jamaicans.
Producer: Charlotte North
Series Producer: David Prest
A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4
No comments:
Post a Comment