The Day Bob Marley Walked Through Birmingham:The pictures were taken by photographer Ian Dickson, wh

The Day Bob Marley Walked Through Birmingham:

The pictures were taken by photographer Ian Dickson, who was sent by the NME to photograph the Wailers when they played the Odeon on July 19 1975.

He remembers: “We arrived at their hotel and introduced our­selves. There was a bit of a nervous atmosphere – after all, this was the early days of two cultures meeting through music but they were friendly and gave short answers to the questions and then invited us to the sound check at the Odeon Theatre in the city centre. ‘Great, where are the limousines?’ we said. The ­answer: ‘We got no limousines, we walk!’ so there they were, traipsing along a ­Birmingham street, dreadlocks flying, all carrying their own gear. I went on ahead to get this shot as they came down the side alley. There are policemen in the background as there had been a fatal stabbing at a reggae club the previous night and the law wasn’t taking any chances.”

Bob Marley and the Wailers played the Odeon in 1975 for the Natty Dread Tour and on June 22, 1976 for the Rastaman Vibration Tour. They also came to Birmingham on April 26, 1972 and in May 28, 1973.

Photographer: Ian Dickson
Location Of Photograph: The Odeon, Birmingham, England. 07/19/75