More than thirty years after he passed away at age 36, Robert Nesta Marley – better known to the world as reggae superstar Bob Marley – finds his way to the big screen at prestigious film festivals and theaters around the world. Certainly not the first documentary about Marley but already described and billed as the definitive documentary, MARLEY by director Kevin MacDonald documents the singer from birth to death, focusing on the life, music, … Continue reading
Many months have passed since May 11, 2011, the day Bob Marley died thirty years ago and the day I published my research project ‘Babylon by Bus. Bob Marley and the Wailers in the Netherlands‘ in tribute to Marley and the Wailers. For those of you who have missed it, the document can be downloaded and read freely from my website. Here is a short list with websites who have written about ‘Babylon by Bus’ … Continue reading
In April 1979, Bob Marley and the Wailers visited Japan as part of a world tour through Asia, Oceania and the U.S. to promote their live album Babylon by Bus. In Japan, they gave eights concerts, six in Tokyo and another two in Osaka. Almost 33 years after these events, I decided to visit the venues in Tokyo where Marley and the Wailers wrote Japanese reggae history and laid a solid foundation on which homegrown … Continue reading
It is only about a week ago that I learned that earlier this year, on May 12, 2011, Lloyd Knibb, the drummer of the world famous Jamaican ska band The Skatalites, had passed away at age 80. At the time, I was staying in Tokyo for three months, the news simply didn’t reach Japanese shores or at least I didn’t hear or read anything about it back then. I twice had the pleasure of seeing … Continue reading
Officially in stores on June 10, 1980, Uprising was the last Bob Marley and the Wailers album released during Marley’s life. On May 11, 1981, less than one year after the release of Uprising, Marley would succumb to cancer that had apparently plagued his body for years. The last track on his last album is Redemption Song, a beautiful farewell by the reggae superstar who became an icon and legend in the more than thirty … Continue reading
The Jamaica Gleaner, one of Jamaica’s biggest and oldest newspapers, ran a story this week about my research project Babylon By Bus. Bob Marley & The Wailers in the Netherlands. The story was written by Howard Campbell, regular writer for the Gleaner, and features a photo and excerpts from our e-mail exchange. Besides being posted on the website of the Jamaica Gleaner, it will apparently also appear in the Weekly Gleaner – which is published … Continue reading
I am happy to announce that from today, in cooperation with reggaeville.com, the English version of the Babylon By Bus document about the visits of Bob Marley and The Wailers to the Netherlands can also be viewed on issuu.com. Issuu is currently the leading digital publishing platform for magazines, catalogs, newspapers, and other documents, and as such provides a nice platform to reach more people interested in Bob Marley’s life and music. To see Babylon … Continue reading
In April 1979, Bob Marley and the Wailers visited Japan for eight concerts in Tokyo and Osaka as part of their Babylon By Bus-tour through Asia and Oceania. The tour proved a great success, as reggae music became increasingly popular in the land of the rising sun in the years thereafter. 1979 was also the first time in three years that Marley and his Wailers did not visit the Netherlands. In 1976, 1977, 1978 and … Continue reading