I’ve always had a soft spot for a bit of reggae which I assumed came from buying Marley’s Catch A Fire in the mid seventies. ’Stir It Up’ and all that. But, the more I thought about it, the more I could remember the reggae hits of the late sixties and early seventies. There were dozens of them, from ‘Wet Dream’ to ‘Love Of The Common People’ to the classic ‘I Can See Clearly Now’. And yet in my naïve, pre- teen mind I’d always thought of them as pop hits and not even considered where they’d come from or who was singing them. Of course, they are a million miles away from Burning Spear, Lee Perry, U Roy or even Bob Marley, but at the time they spread the word of reggae far wider than their more illustrious brethren. They captured the imagination of British youth, crossing all boundaries of race and colour, loved as much by skinheads (pre right wing version) as rude boys (an Anglicised version of the Jamaican real deal). And little kids like me loved them too because they were unbelievably infectious and radio friendly.
1. Millie / My Boy Lollipop / February 1964
2. Dandy Livingstone / A Message To You Rudy / February 1967
3. The Paragons / The Tide Is High / March 1967
4. Jimmy Cliff / Hard Road To Travel / January 1968
5. Johnny Nash / Hold Me Tight / August 1968
6. Desmond Dekker / The Israelites / March 1969
7. Max Romeo / Wet Dream / May 1969
8. Tony Tribe / Red Red Wine / July 1969
9. Lord Creator / Kingston Town / November 1969
10. The Melodians / Rivers Of Babylon / January 1970
11. Boris Gardiner / Elizabethan Reggae / January 1970
12. Bob & Marcia / Young, Gifted And Black / March 1970
13. Nicky Thomas / Love Of The Common People / June 1970
14. Desmond Dekker / You Can Get If You Really Want / August 1970
15. Freddie Notes / Montego Bay / October 1970
16. The Slickers / Johnny Too Bad / January 1971
17. Eric Donaldson / Cherry Oh Baby / May 1971
18. Dave & Ansil Collins / Monkey Spanner / June 1971
19. The Pioneers / Let Your Yeah Be Yeah / July 1971
20. Johnny Nash / I Can See Clearly Now / June 1972
21. Jimmy Cliff / The Harder They Come / June 1972
22. Dandy Livingstone / Suzanne Beware Of The Devil / September 1972
23. Judge Dread / Big Seven / December 1972
24. John Holt / Help Me Make It Through The Night / December 1974
25.Susan Cadogan / Hurt So Good / April 1975
26. Carl Malcolm / Fattie Bum Bum / September 1975
27. Paul Davidson / Midnight Rider / December 1975
28. Pluto Shervington / Dat / February 1976
