Jack K
Legendary Radge
- Joined
- Oct 30, 2020
Here comes Johnny Reggae indeed Moaty.
Being from the Borders I never had the pleasure of going to the Nite Club but I was aware of it. My massive loss.
Ska and reggae was a natural fit for me after the punk scene was followed by Two Tone. Of the original ska guys I was lucky enough to see Desmond Dekker at the 100 Club in London and Prince Buster in Edinburgh with Jerry Dammers playing a great DJ set before the gig as well as seeing the Two Tone acts.
From the other stuff you pick out:
I was listening to Kraftwerk and discovering the rest of the Motorik/Krautrock scene in the late 70's and saw Kraftwerk live from which my abiding memory was of the deep low synth sounds pulsing through my body.
Rockabilly wise, I saw the Stray Cats at Cinderellas in Stockbridge on their first tour, a memorable night with Brian Setzer ripping it up. I like The Blasters who appeared much later. Of the original stuff I have the Johnny Burnette and the Rock n Roll trio album from 56, listened to a lot of Sun Records stuff and obviously heard what the artists on that label did after they left.
Sam & Dave was obviously part of the Stax scene and that was a massive label and type of music for me. Burn't through Stax, Volt, and Motown records in my early 20's. Anything I could get my hands on I bought or borrowed and taped. Saw most of the folk from that scene other than Otis and your pals Sam & Dave, because they didn't like each other!
That leaves Folk and World music from your list.
Truth is I am learning more about World Music and Folk now listening to the fantastic Kery's Matthews Show on BBC 6 music. Every Sunday without fail she will play a handful of World & Folk music songs which I haven't heard before and which are mind blowingly good. She really knows her shit.
I didn't really get it when I was a kid but The Bhundu Boys lived in Hawick in the Borders so that was very cool and through that and listening to the Andy Kershaw Show I heard and remember going to see The Four Brothers at The Assembly Rooms in Edinburgh. I bought albums by these guys when they came out as well as the Indestructable Sound of Soweto compilation and a Mahlathini & The Mahotella Queens album. I also saw Youssou N'Dour but as I say it is only in recent years that I have started to have a better knowledge and understanding. With folk music I also skimmed across the surface as a kid, I saw Fairport Convention and bought and liked their early albums, listened to the great local guy Dick Gaughan and knew about all the Irish bands of the 70's. I have seen recent folk artists like The Unthanks, James Yorkston etc but my knowledge of true British and Irish folk music is fairly scant compared to other music genres.
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Brass banding.