Easy Skankin, African Night Fever and Juke Joint Press presents: Pressure Drop – Reggae in the Seventies
Book launch and Q&A with John Masouri (author) & hosted by Dennis Bovell.
Plus DJ sets by Dennis Bovell & Easy Skankin DJs
£30 Entry fee includes the event plus a copy of the book (usually £28).
Entry fee for the event only are also available for £15 each.
Tickets: www.tickettailor.com/events/easyskankinltd/1397689
Bar from 5:00pm. Doors 7:00pm to 11:00pm.
Pressure Drop by the legendary reggae writer John Masouri is published on 5th September by Omnibus Press and chronicles reggae’s most tumultuous and influential decade. Beginning in 1970 and unfolding in Britain and Jamaica, reggae flourished against a backdrop of political upheaval, gang warfare, Black Nationalism, race and class discrimination and grinding poverty.
Including an extensive analysis of the decade’s major singles and albums Pressure Drop tells eyewitness accounts and experiences of the decade from artists including Burning Spear, Chris Blackwell, Gregory Isaacs, Bunny Wailer, Jimmy Cliff, Black Uhuru, U-Roy, Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry, Augustus Pablo, Toots and the Maytals, Desmond Dekker, Sly & Robbie, Dennis Bovell, Don Letts, members of the Specials, and first hand anecdotes about Bob Marley and Peter Tosh.
John Masouri is an author and music journalist specialising in reggae and dancehall. For more than thirty five years he has interviewed and written about many of these genres most influential and well known figures, chiefly for Echoes Magazine in the UK and specialist magazines in France and Germany. His work has appeared in Mojo, Music Week, The Guardian, Observer and NME, as well as publications overseas.
John’s previous books include a trilogy centred on Bob Marley and the Wailers, Steppin’ Razor: The Life Of Peter Tosh, Simmer Down: Marley-Tosh-Livingston and Wailing Blues, an authorised biography of Marley’s backing group the Wailers, described by Roger Steffens as “the best book ever written on Bob Marley.” He has recently completed ghostwriting the autobiography of Marcia Griffiths, and is currently working on book projects with Maxi Priest and UB40.
Dennis Bovell was born in Saint Peter, Barbados, and moved to south London at the age of 12. Dennis was a member of the prominent 1970s British reggae band Matumbi, and has produced albums under his own name as well as the pseudonym ‘Blackbeard.’ As a producer, songwriter and sound engineer, Dennis revolutionised the sound of reggae and dub music in Britain. Dennis innovated sub-genres including Lovers Rock, which took its name from a record label founded in Brockley. He is also a singer, multi-instrumentalist and sound engineer known for his unique style, creativity and experimentality with various styles and musical influences. He has collaborated extensively with poet Linton Kwesi Johnson, as well as artists from Janet Kay to Joss Stone. In 2017, Goldsmiths awarded Dennis Bovell an honorary fellowship.
Tickets are non refundable unless the event is cancelled or rescheduled.
