The New Cue #430, October 23: Pressure Drop...Reggae In The Seventies!

"I do chuckle when remembering Lee “Scratch” Perry and his croaking lizard."

Good morning,

Life’s short. Enjoy it while you can. You know what else is short? This intro. The reason is because I’ve got to speak with Gavin Friday in a moment. I’ll be asking the songwriter, composer, actor, painter, world-class raconteur and U2’s creative director for the answers to his Life & Times questionnaire and you can read the results in Monday’s edition of The New Cue. Before then, we’ll have Dan Smith of Bastille getting jiggy with our Release Valve and loads more besides in Friday’s bulletin.

Today, we have the author John Masouri in the hot seat to pull back the curtains upon his exhaustive trawl through 1970s reggae. He’s made this incredible hundred track playlist to enjoy while you read. Should keep you busy until next summer.

Enjoy the edition,

Ted and Niall.

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TNC Book Club: Pressure Drop: Reggae In The Seventies by John Masouri

Book Title: Pressure Drop: Reggae In The Seventies
Author: John Masouri
Publisher: Omnibus Press

Pitch us the book: Randall Grass, head of Shanachie, one of America’s best-known reggae labels, credits me with having “personally encountered virtually every notable artist, producer, and scene-maker from that period”, and telling “this fabulous story with informed perspective and fascinating, granular detail that only a long-time chronicler of Jamaican music would have.” Meanwhile David Rodigan MBE recently introduced me to his listeners on BBC 1Xtra as “unquestionably one of the most revered reggae journalists in the world,” whilst Sean Paul’s former manager Jeremy Harding, speaking on behalf of the reggae fraternity, has referred to me as “the principal narrator of all our stories, the lens by which we view ourselves and the pen that gives us voice” and with being “a literary treasure for reggae music.”

Interviews with fans arriving for the Reggae Festival at Wembley Arena in 1970, plus performances by Desmond Dekker, John Holt, Toots and the Maytals and more.

Describe the writing process: Over the past 35 years I've worked as a professional music journalist specialising in all forms of reggae, including dancehall and its various offshoots. During that time, I’ve amassed an extensive archive of interviews and other related material that proved invaluable when writing this latest book.