A Crucial Youth reggae night at Fat Sams on 30th May 1984, featuring roots reggae band, Beshara, from the midlands, backed up by the Akabush Sound System, and guest, Smartie, from London.The flyer is bang on with all the reggae patter, slang and wee catch phrases that were on the go back then, and there's also a reminder on it that reggae dancehall nights were referred to as "raves", way before the acid house scene snatched the term!
That guest DJ from Shepherds Bush, Smartie - he once MC'd on a track recorded by The Grip when they were down in London at the Mad Professors studio.
One final thought - you know those lists people make, usually called something like "50 things to do before you die", or similar, and contain "swimming with dolphins" - "fly the length of the Grand Canyon" - "Base jump off Eiffel Tower" that kind of thing, well I'd like to add "go to a reggae dancehall night with a Jamaican sound system" - honestly, if you've not sampled one, ye cannae beat it!!
Big thanks to JG
Strange thing - I spent the whole of the 70's and 80's in Dundee and I can hardly remember a black face. Well at least not enough to fill a Reggae club unless it was with white blokes with dreads.
ReplyDeleteYou're right enough, the black skinned contingent were few and far between in Dundee. An occasional Ugandan student and that was about it. Still, it didn't really matter for the Dundee do's, we knew we were a bit thin on the ground when it came to a mixed race presence. As long as the music was still being belted out!!
ReplyDeleteWhen I moved down south and went to the local Jamaican Club do's, it was reversed, I would often be the only white guy in the building!!
There weren't many white blokes in dreads at Dundee reggae nights back in the day either. That's Edinburgh/Glasgow innit? The Dundee crowd were mostly working class I'd say with some students thrown in for good measure. Dundee has always had a good reggae/dub posse.
ReplyDeleteloads of Black faces in Dundee now,a few white dreadlocked faces too,not so sure theyre reggae fans though!
ReplyDelete