Obituary
Historian and co founder of Blood and Fire with Mick Hucknall.
I recently posted a clip of him rattling off the history of sub without missing a errr beat.
RIP Steve Barrow reggae dude
by 14 Comments
Comments
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
This is sad news. Of many excellent reggae reissue labels, Blood and Fire was one of the best. He achieved his aim of presenting reggae as attractively as the best Jazz labels. His Rough Guide reggae books were great sources of information. I’m sure the Congos wouldn’t be as well known today if it wasn’t for him.
What a loss. Wow. He was extremely knowledgeable.
Here’s a nice tribute from Pete Paphides:
https://www.patreon.com/posts/catering-to-cats-159560031
Thanks @alias. Excellent article. Of course it should be in the Guardian not simply on Patreon.
I’m currently reading Broken Greek, Pathides’s autobiography and I warmly recommend it. It was a gift from @ duco01 who is also a big fan.
It combines his development as a music fan with a very amusing account of family life in a Greek fish and chip shop in Brum. A joy to read.
I’m surprised how little traction the news of his death has got in the media. I will add that book to my wants list.
“And when I filed it away, I noticed that actually, Steve Barrow had been a presence in my record collection for years”. Ditto.
Well, reading that has already cost me a few quid, and it isn’t even 8am.
The 4 part interview that KFD posted is equally as interesting. Your wallet will likely be lighter after listening.
Thanks for starting this thread, Junior. It’s got me digging around to find out more about Steve and his work. Here’s a fine quote…
Most music cultures have their performers and their producers, their label owners and their journalists. The rarest figure of all is the one who works behind all of those, in the spaces between the records, making sure that what was created survives with its integrity intact and reaches the people who need to hear it. Steve Barrow is that figure for reggae. Without him, a significant portion of the music this publication exists to celebrate would be poorly documented, badly distributed, and in some cases simply lost.
https://bassculture.substack.com/p/the-archivist-steve-barrow-and-the
And another…..
What Steve Barrow understood, and what his life’s work demonstrates, is that the music is only as durable as the effort made to preserve it. Records deteriorate. Labels fold. Artists die without having told their stories. The archivist’s job is to work against all of that, patiently and without much public recognition, making sure the evidence survives. Reggae and dub are richer, better documented, and more widely heard because of him. That is not a small thing.
I looked at the Wiki entry on BLOOD AND FIRE.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blood_and_Fire_(record_label)?shem=rimspwouoe,
This quote caught my eye.
Initial releases drew on mid-1970s Bunny Lee and King Tubby[6] produced material. As Barrow said in 1999:
“The majority of the Blood & Fire catalogue went through King Tubby’s [studio]. There are exceptions but, by and large, most of those records were mixed by King Tubby or one of his pupils, and they were voiced there. We think that King Tubby is one of the most important figures this century, so indirectly the catalogue celebrates King Tubby and his contribution. We think that King Tubby is probably more important than Bob Marley…”
That’s quite a claim. The millions of disciples of Saint Bob may not quite agree with that.
Found this mini doc about King Tubby. Some nice graphics and lots of background info.
This thread inspired me to pull out my copy of their first album If Deejay Was Your Trade. It starts with this absolute banger and the quality doesn’t let up. The LP cost £8.49 back in 1994.
Sounds very promising @Alias.
This guy has posted a playlist on Spotify
Jake Savona is from Melbourne- he has put out quite a bit of reggae, dub and Cuban stuff.
I found this recording of an interview with King Tubby which according to the comments was done by Finnish Broadcaster Tero Kask.
I was sorry to hear this.
I’ve spent much of the past 30 years reading Steve Barrow’s books and sleeve notes about reggae recordings. He was hugely knowledgable and passionate about the whole panoply of Jamaican music. My reggae collection would only be a shadow of what it is, were it not for Barrow’s countless astute recommendations over the decades. What a guy. One Love!