August 18, 2022

Harlem Spirit, Reggae Moss Side Style

Lovin' Those Reggae Vibes

Love a bit of reggae and seriously don't post enough of it, (mental note to self) 'must try harder'...

Following reading a recent wonderful post from baggingarea.blogspot.com about the mighty Barrington Levy with his track 'Here I Come', it re-kindled many happy memories, dancing to reggae sounds on Alt Indie Nights at 'The Pink Toothbrush' to wandering around places like Brixton, Camden and Ladbroke Grove/Portobello Road and hearing some wonderful reggae sounds to later hitting websites such as KYPP which heavily features dub reggae artists, as well as dancing about to reggae acts at local venues and hurting so bad the next day (sign of gettin' old 👴).

The Band & Style

Harlem Spirit were a reggae/fusion band based in the Hulme/Moss side area. They recorded around half a dozen singles for both the Major and Indie labels. They were primarily made up of Pete Strong who played guitar and vocals, the rest of the band appear to have been a little 'fluid' and apparently also 'devoid' of surnames which always amuses me, anyway from what I can find:

Pete Strong - Doing some Guitar and Vocas
Harold - Doing some Guitar and Vocals
Max - Doing some Sax
Trevor - With some Vocals
Mike - With some Drums
Unknown - Doing that whole Bass thing

Their second single 'Universal Man' released on the indie 'Limo Records' label in 1982 being a tribute to the great man 'Bob Marley'.

Gigging, Support Slots & Further Work

They played plenty of Universities back in the day including Leeds, Sheffield and Huddersfield and plenty of clubs on the Northern circuit as well as 'opening' for bands such a Wilko Johnson & The Solid Senders', 'Department S', 'Aswad' and even old school legends such as 'Junior Walker & The All Stars' (who attempted to offer the bands drummer a job! ). The drummer, Mike later went on to work with Glaswegian band 'Texas'.

'I Predict A Riot' & Sus Laws Protest Song

This was their first 7" release in 1980 on the 'CSS' Records (Central Sounds Studios) Label and also as a promo on the major 'EMI' Records Label. Generally a protest about the controversial 'Sus Laws' at the time which gave police the powers to stop and search anybody they thought 'suspicious', I suspect given the times and the state of 80's policing it was abused though and targeted ethnic minorities unnecessarily.

The Sus Law (Suspected Person) was actually introduced to the UK in 1824 under the Vagrancy Act and was used by the UK Police during the late 70's/early 80's. Following the 1981 riots it was repealed, but since that time a further legislation was re-introduced in 2007 giving the police back 'almost the same powers', I guess the re-introduction has been possibly more triggered by the response to terrorist acts, however there is still an underlying concern over at times how it is conducted.

Track listing:

Dem A Sus (In The Moss)
Make You Mine

Further Articles

Have a read of this article 'Gus John and the Moss Side Defence Committee' describing how it was in Moss Side in the early part of the 1980's hopefully it gives a picture of how delicate the situation was in London, Birmingham, Manchester and other towns and cities at the time, not necessarily helped by some of the 'heavy handed' policing of the time. Also have a read of the article and pictures on bbc.co.uk which describes some of the causes, costs and aftermath to places such as Brixton, I guess the same would have been true in Liverpool, Birmingham, Leeds and Bristol as well.

Moss Side 1981 — Moss Side Riots 1981 Photo Source: WWJ [email protected]

Also catch more about Harlem Spirit at manchesterbeat.com.

More Reggae & Diverse Doctrine

And next on my reggae memory trip...

Jah Woosh (aka Neville Beckford) and Ras Ibuna, this track was released on the legendary 'Grove Music' Label in 1978. The label was formed in 1977 and worked with 'Island Records' it was a label that introduced the U.K. to the delights of sounds by reggae bands such as Aswad. Read more about the late Neville Beckford and his history at the wonderful KYPP website. Also check out Discogs.com for the amazing amount of music produced by Jah Woosh, it really is quite an impressive list! And if that isn't enough, for a bit of extra top sounds visit the link to Jamaican Roots YouTube Channel below there is some awesome stuff on there.