In Honor of Black History I’ve posted some of my favorite paintings remembering some of the influential black figures of my time. Most of which are Gone but Never forgotten may they rest in peace.
Marley and his band rehearse for the historic Dream Concert, which was held at the National Stadium in Kingston, Jamaica in October 1975. The event was a benefit concert for the Jamaican Institute for the Blind.
Photographer:Kim Gottlieb-Walker Location Of Photograph: National Stadium, Kingston, Jamaica. 10/04/75
Journalist Charles Shaar Murray Remembers Bob Marley At The Hammersmith Odeon, 1976:
“Trenchtown Rock’ filled the hall, occupying space and time like a solid object. Down front it was like dancing in the middle of a choir while simultaneously getting a full massage – plus you could watch the band with the I Threes dignifiedly swaying in the breeze and Marley moving fluid behind the centre mike, radiating the strange kind of intensity of presence that a small man can use to dominate a stage.”
“The band generated what seemed like infinite quantities of energy with virtually no apparent effort; a judoka’s mastery of stress and balance and pressure. Family Man Barrett’s bass was a huge granite Odin humming in the bath and the guitars did almost as much dancing as the audience.”
Photographer: Steve Joester Location Of Photograph: Hammersmith Odeon, London, England. 06/16/76
“Well, what we know, is not what they tell us; We’re not ignorant, I mean it, and they just cannot touch us; Through the powers of the Most-I, we keep on surfacin’; Thru the powers of the Most-I, we keep on survivin’. In this ambush in the night!” - Bob Marley
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
