Black Roots plus Fowokan featuring Jimmy Lindsay
It’s set to be a truly great night of British reggae on Friday 18th November with this fantastic double header featuring Black Roots and Fowokan at Under the Bridge, Chelsea.
Following their appearance at Alexander Palace (All Tomorrows Parties, curated by Portishead) in July 2011, newly reformed Black Roots have just seen the launch of their new “best of” CD (“The Reggae Singles Anthology”, Bristol Archive)and live DVD ahead of their return to the studio in early 2012. Catch this rare opportunity to see them live.
Black Roots
Black Roots were a powerful and potent force in the British reggae music scene throughout the 80’s and left a legacy of no less than ten albums and more than eight singles before bowing out of the public eye in the mid-90’s. Hailing from the St Paul’s area of Bristol, the original eight-member band was formed in 1979 and quickly gained a large following by touring almost non-stop around the country, playing their brand of ‘militant pacifism’ roots.
Their album “Black Roots” released in 1983 was a highly acclaimed debut for the band and saw them make their mark immediately on the national music scene. The band continued to attract attention and praise with their next two albums and their fourth, “All Day All Night” was produced by Mad Professor. In response to public demand for a live album Black Roots released “Live Power” in 1988 capturing the power and strength of the band’s tight, vibrant and entertaining stage performance.
In 1991 Black Roots and Neil Fraser released “Dub Factor: The Mad Professor Mixes” along with Black Steel and the horn section from the All Day All Night album. The tenth and final album “Dub Factor 3: Dub Judah & Mad Professor Mixes” released in 1995 finally brought the curtain down on Bristol’s finest exponents of reggae and without doubt, one of Britain’s best loved performing bands of the genre.
“If anyone tells you that there is no such thing as good British reggae, first tell them that they are a herbert and then listen to Black Roots.” John Peel
Fowokan
Melding soulful roots reggae with hard hitting funky vibes Fowokan features some of the best UK musical talent of the genres. Forged from their time together in the legendary British funk band Cymande, Fowokan re-unites founding member Sam Kelly (drums / backing vocals) with Jimmy Lindsay (vocals).
Jimmy’s song writing delves deep into the roots of reggae and communicates a powerful message through his Jamaican heritage. The strength of Jimmy’s writing is captured on his three solo albums (including “Children of Rastafri“ ). His chart success includes the 1977 British Reggae Award winning single, a re-working of the Commodores “Easy“.
Playing as a formidable six piece unit, this is funky roots reggae at its best.
Under The Bridge
Under The Bridge is the new music venue in West London based beneath the terraces of the Stamford Bridge football ground. With a capacity of 600 and state of the art lighting and sound, UTB is a great gig space which delivers on both atmosphere and intimacy.
The UTB team are committed to delivering music events of a high standard across many genres, staging performances by major artists as well as showcasing some of the best emerging talent around.
Tickets and more information available from www.underthebridge.co.uk
Press Contacts
Graeme Miall, Promoter, One Tree Limited , Telephone : 07816 845 883 graeme.miall@onetreemusic.co.uk
This event is a co-promotion bought to you by Under The Bridge Limited and One Tree Limited.

Tags: roots reggae

This entry was posted on Wednesday, October 26th, 2011 at 4:00 pm and is filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.