#fred locks

Fred Locks - Black Star Liners (1975)

Fab roots reggae.  The Black Star Liner was Marcus Garvey’s shipping company created in the hopes of transporting African Americans back to Africa. To Rastafarians, it represents Garvey’s dreams of repatriation

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REMASTERED EDITION: Fred Locks 'Black Star Liner'

Fred Locks’ 1976 LP Black Star Liner sits on any short list of classics from Reggae’s golden era of the 1970s. The LP, available again in a newly remastered edition, evokes the earnest vision of repatriation that Marcus Garvey articulated and attempted to actualise a century ago. 

Writers Steve Barrow and Peter Dalton put the release in context in Reggae: The Rough Guide: “‘Black Star Liners,’ which became an enduring roots anthem that helped define the period. Fred Locks’ voice was opposite to the deep roots rhythms that supported it as well as to the serious themes of iniquity, faith and repatriation.”

At the time of the album’s initial release, the singer simply recalled, “I wasn’t so versed in Rasta but it’s really because of sufferation over the years why you find more to write about. Even Black Star Liners was a song I started to write about two years ago (1973). It never reaches completion until the day in the studio, you know, the very last words.”

The album is the result of the collaboration between producer Hugh Boothe and his friend Fred Locks (born Stafford Elliot), both of whom were members of Jamaica’s Twelve Tribes Of Israel (Rastafarian) organization. The album followed the release of the single “Black Star Liners” in 1975 on Boothe’s Jahmikmusik label (an affiliate of Twelve Tribes’ Jahlovemuzik Soundsystem).

Despite the frustrations of getting the album off the ground and distributed in the 1970s – it first was licensed to the U.K. Vulcan label which vanished within a few years – the recognition and impact of the album have been the lasting markers of its success.

Singers including Carlene Davis and Luciano have paid tribute in the years since, and it has helped keep the vision and ideals of Garveyism close to the core canon of Reggae for five decades. It is in many senses a Roots touchstone. Thanks to Fred Locks the melodic line and phrase “Seven miles of Black Star Liners coming in the harbour” remains embedded in the lexicon of the Rasta community.

This deluxe edition, scheduled for release on the 9th of February 2024, is presented in its original stereo mix, lovingly remastered and restored, an upgrade on the pressings available in recent years. In addition, the cover art has been colour-corrected for an accurate reproduction of the original. Extensive liner notes by Noel Hawks and a rare photo by Michael Morgan on the printed inner sleeve give the release additional depth. The original purple Jahmikmusik labels found on the 45 are also used for the LP.

Exploration and experimentation continued apace after 1996 without discarding the discoveries of the first three decades. From the Bridge Generation, there were clear indications of renewal/continuing approaches to choreography. The renewal end of the renewal/continuity continuum was to be balanced by Marlon D. Simms (Continuum), Chris Walker (Urban Fissure), Shelley Maxwell (Garvey Lives) and Christina Gonzalez (My Skin, My Kin). 

Simms' Continuum (2015) explored the musical stylings of new generation reggae artists/band Raging Fyah – “Africa”, “Karma” and “Brave”. The work experimented with the National Dance Theatre Company (NDTC) modern dance style, which is a blend of Jamaican traditional folk forms, ballet and modern dance techniques. The finale reflected the movement patterns of people ‘en masse’, indicative of communal gatherings and festivities such as parties and Dancehall.

Original Dancers (Continuum): Kerry-Ann Henry, Keita-Marie Chamberlain, Tamara Noel, Marisa Benain, Maia Pereira, Jillian Samms, Sophia McKain, Kristina Graham, Kayon Wray, Gillian Steele, Jahmai Paul, Lauryn Rickman, Jodi-Ann Smith, Nadani Dixon, Shade Thaxter, Gillian Edwards, Mishka Williams, Tiffani Smith, Rachel Walter, Mark Phinn, Kevin Moore, Patrick Earle, Paul Newman, Phillip Earle, Michael Small, Kemar Francis, Dominic Saunders, DeVaughn Allen, Javal Lewis

Walker's consciousness of the need to renew while ensuring continuity was evident in his early choreographic expressions and thus prepared his audience for Urban Fissure (2004). The work utilised the music of Bob Marley – “No More Trouble” featuring Eryka Babu and “Rastaman Chant” featuring Busta Rhymes. Jamaica Gleaner writer Chester Francis Jackson wrote: 

Walker's debut presentation of a populist folkloric piece in a contemporary arrangement, showcased not only his skills a choreographer, but the changing face of the dance genre as indeed, this was a piece that stuck to its text in presentation and styling, and made for arresting attention.  

Original Dancers (Urban Fissure): Keita-Marie Chamberlain, Debroah Powell-Valentino, Jihan Palmer, Mark Phinn, Khama Phillips/Oniel Pryce

Shelley Maxwell’s Garvey Lives (2005) traced the journey by the great Jamaican visionary Marcus Garvey through his Philosophy and Opinions to reclaim the ancestral pedigree threatened by the consequences of slavery and his defiant efforts to get people to do somethings about reclamation. She drew on the music of Fred Locks, Burning Spears, Steel Pulse and the dub poetry of Mutabaruka. The programme notes read:

As many people predicted after he had died, his memory would live on and his voice would still be heard from the past, through black people in the present. Today his words survive, and with them the hopes for a better tomorrow.

Original Dancers (Garvey Lives): Keita-Marie Chamberlain, Tamara Noel, Marisa Benain, Janira Bremner, Danielle Nembhard, Mark Phinn, Marlon D. Simms/Kevin Moore, Jermaine Rowe, Oniel Pryce

Christina Gonzalez choreographic debut, My Skin, My Kin (2009) on the National Dance Theatre Company (NDTC) drew heavily on dub poetry as reflected in Rex Nettleford’s Dis Poem (1988). Here, the choreographer used Mutabaruka's – ‘I Don’t Have A Colour Problem’ and ‘Whey Mi Belang?’. 

Original Dancers (My Skin, My Kin): Keita-Marie Chamberlain, Tamara Noel, Marlon D. Simms, Allatunje Connell, Paul Newman, Orlando Barnett