THE MUSIC
By 1968 not only had the fashion changed but so had the music, and gone was the romantic, sweeping Rocksteady beat of Duke Reid and in came the brash, faster sound of the reggay, reggie or reggae.
Horn man Lester Sterling's 'Reggie On Broadway', Stranger Cole's 'Bang A Rang', Lee Perry's Upsetters with 'Return of Django' and, of course, Desmond Dekker's number one pop chart entry 'Israelites' were staple favourites of the skinhead crowd and younger West Indians as the decade drew to a close.
1969 through to 1971 were the best chart hitting years for reggae music mainly fuelled by the massive buying power of the skinheads who had adopted it as their own which caused over twenty records to hit the pop charts. From powerful organ instrumentals like 'Liquidator' by Harry J's All Star band, featuring Winston Wright on funky hammond, to Dave & Ansil Collins, two yelping Dj pieces with 'Double Barrel' and 'Monkey Spanner' respectively, the reggae style was moving units. Max Romeo's lewd 'Wet Dream' reputedly sold 250,000 copies and made number ten in the pop charts with out a single airplay as the BBC had banned it.
Beneath the charts was a strong flow of new records coming out each week and eagerly snapped up by skinheads even before the West Indians themselves could grab a copy. There had been UK pressed Jamaican R&B and ska records all through the sixties starting with Melodisc's Blue Beat label at the end of 1960 and the Starlite imprint run out of the jazz label Esquire, plus the home grown recordings put out by Sonny Roberts independent Planetone label. Island Records came next, along with Rita and Benny King's R&B Discs, (Rita and Benny Discs) later to name change to Ska Beat, but two companies really held the marketplace by the end of the decade.
The biggest and responsible for almost every pop chart hit was Trojan Records working out of north west London. The original Trojan label was part of a tie up with Lee Gopthal's Beat & Commercial (B&C) distribution company and Island Records owner, white Jamaican, Chris Blackwell. The pair were already pressing Studio One, Coxsone and Treasure Isle labelled records and selling them via Gopthals 'Musik City' record stores as well as wholesaling out to other West Indian record shops by 1967. Trojan was one of producer Arthur 'Duke' Reid's original Jamaican imprints and was intended by Island/B&C to use as a nameplate along with Treasure Isle for his productions they were to release in the UK. Island/B&C issued twelve singles and one rare album between summer '67 and the beginning of '68 with the now familiar logo and all orange design Trojan label. By the end of 1968 more labels had been added to the roster including Amalgamated for producer Joe Gibbs and Down Town to provide an outlet for the UK studio work of Dandy Livingstone. As the skinhead boom was starting in late 1968 Lee Gopthal decided to split B&C away from Island and took all the subsidiary labels with him just as the '600' series Trojan singles were going into production. Trojan/B&C also started to distribute Graeme Goodalls Doctor Bird Group of labels which included Attack, JJ, Rio and Pyramid as well as carrying on with Clement 'Coxsone' Dodd's Studio One output.
Trojan/B&C began adding new labels at a speedy rate to keep up with the rapid input of various Jamaican producers whose work was selling by the cartload to the new white market in the UK. Upsetter for all Lee Perry work, Jackpot for Edward 'Bunny' Lee productions and Grape for the home grown skinhead material from artists like Freddy Notes and the Rudies, to name but three of more than twenty. The Trojan empire was growing and producers and artists both sides of the Atlantic were aware of the new markets opening up and old hands like singer/producers Laurel Aitken and Dandy Livingstone began catering especially for the skinheads. Laurels Pama releases like the jumping 'Skinhead Train' along with 'Jessie James' were club staples while Dandy's chart entry for Trojan, 'Reggae In Your Jeggae', kept the skins happy with it's pumping rhythm and chant like chorus.
Not every thing was rosy for Trojan though, as they had a serious rival in Pama Records with a base in north London and were formed by brothers Harry and Jeff Palmer, in 1967. The original mauve Pama label was set up to release US recorded soul music but by summer 1968 the demand was such for Jamaican product that the decision was made start licensing and releasing it. In keeping with Trojan Records, Pama set up a number of offshoot labels to cater for the late rocksteady and early skinhead reggae issues from various producers. The first was Nu-Beat with a UK recorded tune, 'Train To Vietnam' by the Rudies closely followed by other labels such as Unity, Crab and Gas. By early 1969 Pama had almost as many labels as Trojan under their belt with superb design work on most. 'Punch' with its fist smashing through the pop charts or 'Camel' with the grinning cartoon animal all carried first class reggae music to the skinhead and West Indian community. The original Pama label had gone through a colour change with it turning to a tan brown for the rocksteady and reggae releases in 1968, and only reverting to the soul mauve for US imported tunes or home grown funky things such as The Mohawks with 'The Champ'. Pama had the jump on Trojan to start with as they had the massive 'Wet Dream' chart single on their subsidiary Unity, but they didn't have either Lee Gopthals distribution network or, indeed, his ear for adding strings to sweeten the sound. This UK over dubbing aided the singles to not only sell well to the younger generation but also added enough sweetener to make them accessible for radio play and move in to the mainstream.
By 1969 Trojan were way ahead in the pop chart stakes notching up hit after hit with their saccharin sweet string arrangements while Pama had very healthy sales but couldn't crack the pop charts. Pat Kelly's moving 'How Long' on Pama subsidiary Gas sold enormous quantities but only through more specialist shops and outlets that didn't file chart returns hence no mainstream recognition.
Long play albums were a tricky market to crack as singles were the way most Jamaicans had traditionally heard and bought recorded music and one of a skinheads most prized possessions was his collection of reggae 45s. But Trojan took the plunge and released 'Tighten Up Volume 1' early in 1969 at the give away price of just under fifteen shillings or 75p. It contained a strong selection of their previous years hits and originally came on the all orange label design. It was an instant success and Volume 2 appeared in the autumn of the same year and reached number two in the UK album charts before disappearing three weeks later as budget price albums were to be disregarded in future weeks chart returns.
Both Pama and Trojan started to put out compilation album series. 'Club Reggae' and 'Reggae Chart Busters' followed alongside the 'Tighten Up' series for Trojan often duplicating tracks, while Pama hit out with the 'Straighten Up', 'This is Reggae' and 'Hot Numbers' string of albums. Pama also released generic round ups of their better labels such as 'Best of Crab' and 'Nu Beats Greatest Hits' which are chock full of quality skinhead reggae although all the tracks had obviously been out as 45s.
The Trojan album sleeve art left a little to be desired. Travel shots loaned from BOAC or scantily clad young ladies romping with snakes or in mounds of Dolly Mixtures were the order of the day, where as early Pama albums carried interesting shots of singers and club scenes along with sleeve notes - a novelty in the reggae market. Sadly, Pama soon turned to the pretty girl covers too and, if anything, their shots were more explicit than Trojan.
Single artist albums were also emerging both from Trojan and Pama. These albums were interesting affairs for the enthusiast as they normally carried many of the hit singles for that particular performer and sometimes, the odd recording that was actually nothing to do with him! Also it was quite often the first time the UK buyers had seen a picture of the singer if he hadn't visited these shores on tour. Desmond Dekker's 'This Is' collection for Trojan did very well in the mainstream due to his chart activity while Clancy Eccles Dynamites had the 'Fire Corner' LP and Derrick Harriott's Crystalites with 'The Undertaker' album mopped up any spare money the skinheads had in their pockets. Interestingly, many albums that appeared to be single artist concerns were actually producer fronted and utilised a pool of musicians who assumed different group identities depending who offered the fee. Though Harriott and Eccles were accomplished vocalists both were catering for the fashionable skinhead market with semi-instrumental session albums they had produced with the above releases. There were a great number of superb single artist albums available such as Keith 'Slim' Smith's sublime Pama release of 'Everybody Needs Love' or 'Says Fire' from skinhead stalwart Laurel Aitken on Doctor Bird to name two, but the compilation album had the edge in sales and desirability.
A few other labels were issuing current material such as Melodisc who had retired their Blue Beat label in 1967 as out of date and installed the modern titled 'Fab' imprint. There was very little difference in the output as Blue Beat, and now Fab, had been predominantly for issuing Prince Buster's vocals and productions. He had always been abreast of the times with the ska, rocksteady and then reggae beats so it was business as usual, although Fab never managed to gain a large foothold in the skinhead market. 'Bamboo' and then slightly later 'Banana' had been set up by Junior Lincoln to deal with the output of Clement 'Coxsone' Dodd's productions after the demise of the Island/B&C distribution deal of the 'Studio One' and 'Coxsone' imprints. The sound was decidedly different to the jumping skinhead music coming out of Pama and Trojan, with a much more mellow feel thanks in part to keyboard ace, Jackie Mittoo, who was the principle arranger. Whilst the music is sublime it didn't really fit the bill for the average skinhead in 1970 although it was very popular with West Indians.
By the middle of 1973 the skinhead faze had moved through to the short lived smoothie fashion which in turn gave way to the suedehead with longer hair, loafer shoes and patterned trousers, and with Glam Rock just around the corner there many defectors. The reggae sales suffered as the skinheads faded away and both Trojan and Pama, by the end of 1972, were releasing a considerable percentage of weak, watered down, string laden UK recordings which found no favour with the remaining skinheads or the general public. Both companies were to soon close many of their labels and minimalism operations due to lack of sales. Also the rise of the 'back to Africa' and 'black awareness' lyrics didn't help the cause of reggae in the UK. Most of the white skinheads couldn't identify with this new form of the music and as they didn't like the slower rootsy beat they deserted it for Bolan and Bowie.
Horn man Lester Sterling's 'Reggie On Broadway', Stranger Cole's 'Bang A Rang', Lee Perry's Upsetters with 'Return of Django' and, of course, Desmond Dekker's number one pop chart entry 'Israelites' were staple favourites of the skinhead crowd and younger West Indians as the decade drew to a close.
1969 through to 1971 were the best chart hitting years for reggae music mainly fuelled by the massive buying power of the skinheads who had adopted it as their own which caused over twenty records to hit the pop charts. From powerful organ instrumentals like 'Liquidator' by Harry J's All Star band, featuring Winston Wright on funky hammond, to Dave & Ansil Collins, two yelping Dj pieces with 'Double Barrel' and 'Monkey Spanner' respectively, the reggae style was moving units. Max Romeo's lewd 'Wet Dream' reputedly sold 250,000 copies and made number ten in the pop charts with out a single airplay as the BBC had banned it.
Beneath the charts was a strong flow of new records coming out each week and eagerly snapped up by skinheads even before the West Indians themselves could grab a copy. There had been UK pressed Jamaican R&B and ska records all through the sixties starting with Melodisc's Blue Beat label at the end of 1960 and the Starlite imprint run out of the jazz label Esquire, plus the home grown recordings put out by Sonny Roberts independent Planetone label. Island Records came next, along with Rita and Benny King's R&B Discs, (Rita and Benny Discs) later to name change to Ska Beat, but two companies really held the marketplace by the end of the decade.
The biggest and responsible for almost every pop chart hit was Trojan Records working out of north west London. The original Trojan label was part of a tie up with Lee Gopthal's Beat & Commercial (B&C) distribution company and Island Records owner, white Jamaican, Chris Blackwell. The pair were already pressing Studio One, Coxsone and Treasure Isle labelled records and selling them via Gopthals 'Musik City' record stores as well as wholesaling out to other West Indian record shops by 1967. Trojan was one of producer Arthur 'Duke' Reid's original Jamaican imprints and was intended by Island/B&C to use as a nameplate along with Treasure Isle for his productions they were to release in the UK. Island/B&C issued twelve singles and one rare album between summer '67 and the beginning of '68 with the now familiar logo and all orange design Trojan label. By the end of 1968 more labels had been added to the roster including Amalgamated for producer Joe Gibbs and Down Town to provide an outlet for the UK studio work of Dandy Livingstone. As the skinhead boom was starting in late 1968 Lee Gopthal decided to split B&C away from Island and took all the subsidiary labels with him just as the '600' series Trojan singles were going into production. Trojan/B&C also started to distribute Graeme Goodalls Doctor Bird Group of labels which included Attack, JJ, Rio and Pyramid as well as carrying on with Clement 'Coxsone' Dodd's Studio One output.
Trojan/B&C began adding new labels at a speedy rate to keep up with the rapid input of various Jamaican producers whose work was selling by the cartload to the new white market in the UK. Upsetter for all Lee Perry work, Jackpot for Edward 'Bunny' Lee productions and Grape for the home grown skinhead material from artists like Freddy Notes and the Rudies, to name but three of more than twenty. The Trojan empire was growing and producers and artists both sides of the Atlantic were aware of the new markets opening up and old hands like singer/producers Laurel Aitken and Dandy Livingstone began catering especially for the skinheads. Laurels Pama releases like the jumping 'Skinhead Train' along with 'Jessie James' were club staples while Dandy's chart entry for Trojan, 'Reggae In Your Jeggae', kept the skins happy with it's pumping rhythm and chant like chorus.
Not every thing was rosy for Trojan though, as they had a serious rival in Pama Records with a base in north London and were formed by brothers Harry and Jeff Palmer, in 1967. The original mauve Pama label was set up to release US recorded soul music but by summer 1968 the demand was such for Jamaican product that the decision was made start licensing and releasing it. In keeping with Trojan Records, Pama set up a number of offshoot labels to cater for the late rocksteady and early skinhead reggae issues from various producers. The first was Nu-Beat with a UK recorded tune, 'Train To Vietnam' by the Rudies closely followed by other labels such as Unity, Crab and Gas. By early 1969 Pama had almost as many labels as Trojan under their belt with superb design work on most. 'Punch' with its fist smashing through the pop charts or 'Camel' with the grinning cartoon animal all carried first class reggae music to the skinhead and West Indian community. The original Pama label had gone through a colour change with it turning to a tan brown for the rocksteady and reggae releases in 1968, and only reverting to the soul mauve for US imported tunes or home grown funky things such as The Mohawks with 'The Champ'. Pama had the jump on Trojan to start with as they had the massive 'Wet Dream' chart single on their subsidiary Unity, but they didn't have either Lee Gopthals distribution network or, indeed, his ear for adding strings to sweeten the sound. This UK over dubbing aided the singles to not only sell well to the younger generation but also added enough sweetener to make them accessible for radio play and move in to the mainstream.
By 1969 Trojan were way ahead in the pop chart stakes notching up hit after hit with their saccharin sweet string arrangements while Pama had very healthy sales but couldn't crack the pop charts. Pat Kelly's moving 'How Long' on Pama subsidiary Gas sold enormous quantities but only through more specialist shops and outlets that didn't file chart returns hence no mainstream recognition.
Long play albums were a tricky market to crack as singles were the way most Jamaicans had traditionally heard and bought recorded music and one of a skinheads most prized possessions was his collection of reggae 45s. But Trojan took the plunge and released 'Tighten Up Volume 1' early in 1969 at the give away price of just under fifteen shillings or 75p. It contained a strong selection of their previous years hits and originally came on the all orange label design. It was an instant success and Volume 2 appeared in the autumn of the same year and reached number two in the UK album charts before disappearing three weeks later as budget price albums were to be disregarded in future weeks chart returns.
Both Pama and Trojan started to put out compilation album series. 'Club Reggae' and 'Reggae Chart Busters' followed alongside the 'Tighten Up' series for Trojan often duplicating tracks, while Pama hit out with the 'Straighten Up', 'This is Reggae' and 'Hot Numbers' string of albums. Pama also released generic round ups of their better labels such as 'Best of Crab' and 'Nu Beats Greatest Hits' which are chock full of quality skinhead reggae although all the tracks had obviously been out as 45s.
The Trojan album sleeve art left a little to be desired. Travel shots loaned from BOAC or scantily clad young ladies romping with snakes or in mounds of Dolly Mixtures were the order of the day, where as early Pama albums carried interesting shots of singers and club scenes along with sleeve notes - a novelty in the reggae market. Sadly, Pama soon turned to the pretty girl covers too and, if anything, their shots were more explicit than Trojan.
Single artist albums were also emerging both from Trojan and Pama. These albums were interesting affairs for the enthusiast as they normally carried many of the hit singles for that particular performer and sometimes, the odd recording that was actually nothing to do with him! Also it was quite often the first time the UK buyers had seen a picture of the singer if he hadn't visited these shores on tour. Desmond Dekker's 'This Is' collection for Trojan did very well in the mainstream due to his chart activity while Clancy Eccles Dynamites had the 'Fire Corner' LP and Derrick Harriott's Crystalites with 'The Undertaker' album mopped up any spare money the skinheads had in their pockets. Interestingly, many albums that appeared to be single artist concerns were actually producer fronted and utilised a pool of musicians who assumed different group identities depending who offered the fee. Though Harriott and Eccles were accomplished vocalists both were catering for the fashionable skinhead market with semi-instrumental session albums they had produced with the above releases. There were a great number of superb single artist albums available such as Keith 'Slim' Smith's sublime Pama release of 'Everybody Needs Love' or 'Says Fire' from skinhead stalwart Laurel Aitken on Doctor Bird to name two, but the compilation album had the edge in sales and desirability.
A few other labels were issuing current material such as Melodisc who had retired their Blue Beat label in 1967 as out of date and installed the modern titled 'Fab' imprint. There was very little difference in the output as Blue Beat, and now Fab, had been predominantly for issuing Prince Buster's vocals and productions. He had always been abreast of the times with the ska, rocksteady and then reggae beats so it was business as usual, although Fab never managed to gain a large foothold in the skinhead market. 'Bamboo' and then slightly later 'Banana' had been set up by Junior Lincoln to deal with the output of Clement 'Coxsone' Dodd's productions after the demise of the Island/B&C distribution deal of the 'Studio One' and 'Coxsone' imprints. The sound was decidedly different to the jumping skinhead music coming out of Pama and Trojan, with a much more mellow feel thanks in part to keyboard ace, Jackie Mittoo, who was the principle arranger. Whilst the music is sublime it didn't really fit the bill for the average skinhead in 1970 although it was very popular with West Indians.
By the middle of 1973 the skinhead faze had moved through to the short lived smoothie fashion which in turn gave way to the suedehead with longer hair, loafer shoes and patterned trousers, and with Glam Rock just around the corner there many defectors. The reggae sales suffered as the skinheads faded away and both Trojan and Pama, by the end of 1972, were releasing a considerable percentage of weak, watered down, string laden UK recordings which found no favour with the remaining skinheads or the general public. Both companies were to soon close many of their labels and minimalism operations due to lack of sales. Also the rise of the 'back to Africa' and 'black awareness' lyrics didn't help the cause of reggae in the UK. Most of the white skinheads couldn't identify with this new form of the music and as they didn't like the slower rootsy beat they deserted it for Bolan and Bowie.
