Bob Marley
Some uncomfortable truths about World Music
In his masterly, wide-ranging survey, Joe Boyd acknowledges that many artists’ expectations are unrealistic – and that their music is often greeted with contempt by home audiences
The glory of Jamaican music
Abandoned in infancy, Alex Wheatle grew up in children’s homes, but found salvation in roots reggae – and, eventually, his father in Jamaica
How to stop another Grenfell
Scenes from the Grenfell Inquiry is a gripping, horrifying drama. Nicolas Kent and Richard Norton-Taylor have sifted through the public…
Going for a song
A new musical history is being written for Britain, says Nicola Christie
Dead gain
Musicians cast a long cultural shadow. Politicians may wield considerable power in their time, but although today’s young people are…
Why a whole new generation of young Europeans are turning to old-school reggae
Acamera sweeps across the verdant, shimmering beauty of Jamaica before descending on to a raffishly charming wooden house built into…
The cult of Holy Bob
The Harder They Come, Jamaica’s first (and still finest) home-grown film, was released in 1972 with the local singer Jimmy…
Why most four-year-olds deserve to be sectioned
The first episode of Let Us Entertain You (BBC2, Wednesday) definitely couldn’t be accused of lacking a central thesis. Presenter…
Marley’s ghost
From reggae icon to Marlboro Man of marijuana
Madness in the ghetto
There are many more than seven killings in this ironically titled novel — in fact very long — that starts…
No justice, no peace
The chant No justice, no peace by supporters of Mark Duggan, the drug gangster shot dead by police in 2011,…
