The History Of Skinhead Reggae 1968-1972

by John Bailey

(Deluxe Hardback) (A revised 50th Anniversary paperback is also available) This full colour 50th Anniversary hardback edition now includes the Pama labels and artwork and exclusive interviews with Bunny 'Striker' Lee and Jackie Robinson from The Pioneers. Take a trip down memory lane to relive the classic singles and iconic albums, many that retailed for just 14/6. The purchasing power of the skinhead helped to elevate reggae music to the fore with classics such as Liquidator and Long Shot Kick De Bucket forced out from the school disco and youth clubs and into high street shops and the pop charts influencing the arm of radio one to eventually play the music on their station. By the summer of 1972 it was all over, the hair had grown, smooth but not too long, and reggae became a forgotten force having become string laden and watered down.

300 pages, Hardcover

First published November 1, 2012

Reviews

[Lee Humphries · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's a good primer on the History of Skinhead Reggae 1968-1972. It covers a bit of the history from the Mods, the various Jamaican artists and the record labels (as well as British ones), the hit singles and LP's. There are short overviews of the labels and what they produced on vinyl and what bands produced song wise. There are also snippets of info on some of the artists.
Downside to the book is there is a lot of repetition (I think I read about Max Romeo's Wet Dream on 5 occasions), and a number of Jamaican artists who I would have liked more info on such as Prince Buster, Symarip, Laurel Aitken, The Kingstonians, Rudy Mills, etc. They tend to only get a small mention when talking about songs on LP compilations.