DISCOVER London
Bob Marley first came to Britain in 1972, bringing a rich sound and influence recognisable around the world ever after. With a new biopic out, it’s the perfect time to get your boots on in Babylon.
SELFISHLY SPEAKING, TWO very significant things happened in 1972: I was born, and the legend that is Bob Marley came to Britain for the first time. Perhaps no musician is as loved and respected, right across the world, as Bob Marley, no music as recognisable as the reggae he championed. London became his second home during the 70s and walking is the perfect way to explore the remnants of that very different time in British history.
Fittingly for a folk hero, Robert Nesta Marley’s beginnings were humble. He was born up in the hills of rural Jamaica sometime in 1945. Having a black mother and a white father (a man he only saw a handful of times) meant Marley grew up knowing how an outsider felt. It helped shape and toughen a boy who had an air of the mystic about him, a boy often sought out to tell fortunes. Later on in childhood he lived in the Trenchtown area of Jamaica’s capital, Kingston, and despite his diminutive size earned a reputation as someone who wouldn’t back down from a confrontation. The foundations of the man were in place.
In 1963, The Wailers were formed, with Marley, Bunny Wailer and Peter Tosh. They had a successful few years and released four albums before they decided to head to Babylon, or Britain as it’s otherwise known. Babylon is the Rastafarian term for a place of corrupt capitalism and the home of your oppressor.
By this time, two other members had joined the band: Aston ‘Family Man’ Barrett on bass guitar and Carlton ‘Carly’ Barrett on drums. The founding three all covered vocals to some degree, Tosh and Marley played guitar and Bunny mastered percussion, including the bongos. London was where they hoped to make contacts to broaden their audience, because the wider world was yet to wake up to the positivity which the off-beat and lyrical content of reggae music had to offer.
Walking in London is an acquired taste but, as I found out, it’s totally possible to have a good stroll and notch up serious mileage – without even making it all about the many green spaces that punctuate the concrete jungle. I love walking with other people but I’m also more than happy on my own. London, I soon realised, held the perfect balance of both things. I was surrounded by people most, but by no means all of the time, yet none required even the slightest acknowledgement. I was happily alone in the crowds, on my Bob Marley pilgrimage.
