uncarved.org blog

A while ago these images appeared on the North Sixteen Twitter:

I recognised them from a 1970s reggae documentary “Aquarius” as they are announced as being Stoke Newington (London N16), which is where I live:

(Footage starts at 4:50 but it’s well worth viewing in its entirety)

There was some interest about the exact location of these shots, as things have changed a fair bit in the meantime. I figured veteran reggae writer and lifelong Hackney resident Penny Reel would know. I grabbed him on the Chatty Mouth reggae forum.

Can you ID the locations of these shops in Stoke Newington taken from a 1976 film?

The top photo is Roy Shirley’s record shop cum studio on Birkbeck Road. The male in the doorway is Mr Shirley himself.

The bottom picture is Mr Johnson’s cafe on the corner of Sandringham and Birkbeck Roads. These two premises were within 20 yards of each other. In the back room of this cafe one could buy £5 deals of hashish and grass. It was the first Afro-Caribbean business on the street and is now a hairdressing salon.

Roy Shirley is pictured on the left of this photo. Back in the early 1970s, I used to go to blues dances in Birkbeck Road, off Ridley Road market, in the company of man like Ras Painter, Ras Paul, Gene Rondo, Sir Collins, Sir George, Roy Shirley and the rest of the Stokie rasses.

Many thanks, Mr Reel! It should go without saying that Stoke Newington has changed massively since I first visited in the late 80s, but it’s pretty much unrecognisable compared to 1976…

You should have seen Stoke Newington Church Street in the 1960s. Forget the Queen Anne villas and the “big houses”, back then it was a street of second hand shops. The whole area had lost its 18th century elegance and was now a slum street, full of thrift shops, second hand clothes and furniture shops, junk stores, indigent newsagents, cheap cafes, fish and chip shops, etc.

It was not until the Greenham Common lesbians moved in during the early 1970s, followed by the architects, media folk and squatters in the later ’70s that it turned into the wholefood, latte, sub-Hampsteadian parish it is today.

All the proles have moved to Herts and the provincial middle-class have temporarily moved in. However, once these people have children of five years old, William Patten school will not do for them and they will all move back to Devon, where they rightfully belong.

Penny Reel is the author of the essential Deep Down With Dennis Brown (Drake Brothers) which also includes a wealth of information about the reggae scene in London.

He also edited and wrote most of the 1981 Soundsystem Spashdown feature in the New Musical Express.

Cybore / Box Set Go.

Matt owns a lot more boxsets than me:

These Trojan sets, compiled by Steve Barrow, were the most accessible way to get into Black Ark stuff in the late eighties. They foreshadowed Barrow’s later work with the Blood & Fire label – incorporating great selection, sound quality and design. And also the excellent Arkology 3 CD set on Island.

Sort of “Occult Roots of Big Beat” set, featuring mad breakbeat tunes from across the board. I got this ridiculously cheap (I think 6 quid?) from Berwick Street in the mid 90s.

Test Dept’s first LP with grainy photo inserts. This must have been the first box set I ever bought, in the mid eighties. Ordered via the back pages of “Record Collector” magazine. Also the first record I ever picked up from a Post Office depot, something which seems second nature now! Some if not all of this was produced by Genesis P-Orridge. Another Some Bizzare classic.

This used to be ubiquitous – peaking out of people’s record shelves at you when you visited them for the first time. Shorthand for a particular background and all-encompassing worldview which many of us have now jettisoned most of – but the traces remain. Lots of 4o year old anarchopunk “sleepers” out there, biding their time.

This set includes a whopping great booklet featuring the tragic tale of Stonehenge Free Festival founder Wally Hope. And a full colour poster by Gee Vaucher (which mine is missing, boo!)

I had this on tape for years and then finally found a copy in Reckless Records in Islington (RIP) for a good price in the late 90s.

Why Delila’s HDD Mix by Hipsters Dont Dance

(Big Bashy bashment throwdown. Good for housework / getting ready to go out / pounding the mean streets).

And finally:

 

 Moments In Love: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Moments In Love: Version Excursion by Nguzunguzu.

This is some mad shit, that Wayneandwax and DJ Rupture pointed me at. Many different takes on the Art of Noise classic, beautifully blended together.

But shockingly, not including this one:

Bebe Cool – Awete

The minimal keyboard melody in this is a real winner, I think.

The crossword graphics are a nice touch, but some of the effects maybe bleach it all out too much. Respect also to the reappearance of Bell Lager and a particular sacred herb. Also the dialetic of surrounding yourself with bogling girls on the one hand and being booted out of your yard by an angry girlfriend is present and correct.

Bebe has collaborated with a bunch of other Ugandan stars, including Necessary Noize and Jose Chameleon. He is also married to Zuena Kirema, a former Miss Uganda contestant.

The dancehall star is having a pretty rough time of it this year, though. In January he was shot by a copper following a support slot for R Kelly in Kampala. Shortly after this a tyre blow out resulted in Bebe and his family crashing into a swamp and sustaining a number of serious injuries.

In July, his concert was disrupted by a bomb set by an Islamic terrorist group: “Most people who died were just in front of me. The blast was so loud—the next thing I saw were body parts flying over”. That all certainly puts my trials and tribulations this year in perspective and hopefully things will improve for Bebe now!

So this is the last installment of the series – everything on my cruddy VCD is now uploaded to Youtube. I’m sure some people will be breathing a sigh of relief at that, but I’m really pleased to have seen these again and am irked that there seems to be no obvious source of Ugandan dancehall available to me even in these days of “music like water out of a tap”.

unknown by unknown

I have no info on this quartet, but still present their miming and synchronised dancing for your delectation.

This is what I always imagined Uganda’s cross-dressing secret police force, the “Black Mamba Urban Hit Squad” would actually be like, rather than the actuality of brandishing guns.

Ragga Dee – Ndigida

More awesome catchiness with some randomly-shaped dancers shaking their bits in synchronised style around a pool.

This has got the lot – breakdancing, hot gals shaking their asses, even some inexplicable cross-dressing madness.

The only downside is that it cuts a bit short, sorry about that – if anyone has a full version, post it up!

Bit of a high budget promo by the standards of this series. Seems like Mr Dee is doing alright as an elder statesman of Uganda Dancehall, and fair play to him I guess. Looks like he even owns his own beach.

Mind you it looks like he’s the son of a judge and has done a business degree, so not exactly a ghetto sufferah fwiw. Info from this interview with the man himself over at the ever reliable UGPULSE. Click the link if only to see him dressed in a raggamuffin nautical style!

Female pressure from the crew named Blu3:

This reminds me of Misteeq and the like (I still rate Alisha Dixon as an MC actually, shame she went down the sleb route instead of honing her mic skillz…) So I guess this is arguably more r&b than dancehall, but what the hell.

Nice bit of attitude, Eurovision-style bilingualism and some latex – what’s not to like?

I’m not about to dive into some global analysis of body-types and beauty but Blu3 don’t look like the Pussycat Dolls (for all their faux multiculturalism) which can only be a good thing. I have no idea how representative they are of what’s considered “hot” in Uganda.

Blu3 may stand for “Black Ladies from Uganda 3″ and it seems like they first appeared in 2003 during some kind of Coca Cola sponsored talent show.

According to this biog on Musicuganda.com “Hitaji” was their first big hit: “The ‘Hitaji’ single from their debut album of the same name, went to No.1 on every radio and television show in East Africa. The Hitaji video was No.1 on musicuganda.com for 2 months, beating already established Ugandan artists like Chameleon and Bebe Cool.”

Their Myspace (not updated since 2008) reveals that the group are: Jackie Chandiru, Lillian Mbabazi and Mya Baganda. But it seems like Mya replaced founder member Cinderella Sanyu at some point “due to unavoidable circumstances” (huh?)

The Myspace includes some more commercial tracks but “Burn” is worth your time if you like my clip, and “Strong Woman” is a bit like the Drop Leaf Riddim if that’s your bag (it’s not mine).

I’ve not been able to find out what the group are up to now, but am curious – let me know if you do…

One of the great things about reggae’s “version culture” is how getting your mitts on a new tune can reactivate whole swathes of your collection. I stumbled across a storming UK twelve on the Boops riddim recently and spent a very pleasant Saturday afternoon on a version excursion tip, fishing out classics and long forgotten cuts from the dustier corners of my vinyl shelves.

So here’s a little mix for you, done live in one take – with a little bit of post-editing before the last track.

In some ways it’s a companion to my Answer one-riddim-clash mix, but no war business with Paul Meme this time.

Yousendit download link or:

 

 John Eden - Boops Specialist [40:08m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

TRACKLIST

1. The Ethiopians – Last Train to Skaville (1966? – from “Celebration: 25 Years of Trojan Records” LP)

2. Toots and the Maytals – 54-46 (1969 – from Soul Jazz “400% Dynamite” CD)

3. Johnny Ringo – I And I Number (From “JA To UK M.C. Clash” LP, Fashion 1985)

4. Asher Senator – Abbreviation Qualification VIP Mix (Fashion 12” 1984)

5. Horace Andy – Cool and Deadly (Tads 12”)

6. Superman and Spiderman – Roadblock (From “Superman & Spiderman” LP, Kingdom 1985)

7. Papa Face and Bionic Rhona – To the Bump (From “Great British MCs” LP, Fashion 1984)

8. Concrete Jungle Overcoat (from “Rubble Dub M.C.’s Choice” LP, Rubble 1986)

9. Supercat – Boops (Techniques 7” 1986)

10. Pam Hall – Dear Boopsie (Blue Mountain 12”, 1986)

11. King Kong – Don’t Touch My Boops (Unity Sound 12” 1986)

12. Papa Charjan And Jack Reuben Featuring Higgy Rygin – Moany Moany (Shuttle Records 12” 1986)

13. Bayley & Chacka Demus – One Scotch (Unity Sound 12”)

14. Papa Charjan And Jack Reuben Featuring Higgy Rygin – One Scotch, One Tennants, One Brew (Shuttle Records 12” 1986)

15. Rebel MC and Double Trouble – Street Tuff (Desire 7”, 1989)

SLEEVENOTES

The Ethiopians – Last Train to Skaville (1966? – from “Celebration: 25 Years of Trojan Records” LP)

The Ethiopians started in the 1940s and passed through Studio One in the sixties before recording this for WIRL. This opening track is a little on the quiet side, partly because that’s how I like to start, but also because Trojan have unwisely included 10 tracks per side of this LP. Which, to be fair, did make it good value – just not so great for playing out.

Toots and the Maytals – 54-46 (1969 – from Soul Jazz “400% Dynamite” CD)

Everyone has heard this, surely? So the story behind this tune is that Toots Hibbert was busted for ganja and the title of the tune was his prison number. Unfortunately that is just a story. Toots says he was busted (for what isn’t clear) whilst trying to pay bail for a mate – and the number is just something he made up.

So yeah, these first few tracks are off compilations and not crackly seven inches. People get snobbish about that I guess, so here is full disclosure. Both of these comps are brilliant, by the way.

Johnny Ringo – I And I Number (From “JA To UK M.C. Clash” LP, Fashion 1985)

JA MC on tour in the UK cuts album underneath the Dub Vendor shop, riding the riddim with some nice “definition lyrics”.

Unfortunately Ringo died in 2005, his passing was noted by me here.

Asher Senator – Abbreviation Qualification VIP Mix (Fashion 12” 1984)

Saxon MC Asher’s first single, which I’ve written about previously in my Born To Chat: The Asher Senator Story.

Horace Andy – Cool and Deadly (Tads 12”)

Sleepy brings his take on “ABC” by the Jackson 5 to the party. This raises the musical levels after Asher’s lyrical onslaught. I often play the two in combination like this on the increasingly rare occasions that I am trusted on the decks in public.

Superman and Spiderman – Roadblock (From “Superman & Spiderman” LP, Kingdom 1985)

Mysterious trademark-infringing duo in the mould of Michigan and Smiley.

Superman was born in Birmingham, but raised in JA. He now records UK Dub material under the name of Sandeeno. Spiderman I know little about but seem to recall he was JA born and bred.

Of course, superhero imagery has been well used in reggae, from Tony McDermott’s great covers for Scientist dub albums, to these labels:

Papa Face and Bionic Rhona – To the Bump (From “Great British MCs” LP, Fashion 1984)

“Nuff man chat on the Shank I Sheck, but me no hear no-one pon this one yet”

Underrated duo, previously written about here. Rhona is an uncarved.org reader, Face has continued to MC as mic man for David Rodigan and is a regular fixture behind the counter at Dub Vendor.

Concrete Jungle Overcoat (from “Rubble Dub M.C.’s Choice” LP, Rubble 1986)

Very talented musicians at Fashion. Their riddims and dub albums never get proper credit, but it’s nice gear. I meant to write about them all for Woofah but it didn’t quite happen. Gussie Prento production.

Super Cat – Boops (Techniques 7” 1986)

“And when you check it out Friday ah payday”

The tune that started the craze. Super Cat tells the story of an older guy who has the girls flocking – but only because of his wallet. The Techniques lick of the riddim is proper loose (in a good way) and even has a bum note towards the end.

Pam Hall – Dear Boopsie (Blue Mountain 12”, 1986)

“Since you’ve been gone – I’ve forgotten the taste of wine”

Pam is the sister of Audrey Hall. Dear Boopsie attempts to give some female perspective on the Boops phenomenon, though it’s hardly an advert for womens’ liberation. Oddly this seems to be the only tune in the mix which has troubled the UK Charts, skirting around the mid 50s for a few weeks.

The tune even appeared in one of the few reggae charts featured on ITV’s The Chart Show.

King Kong – Don’t Touch My Boops (Unity Sound 12” 1986)

“Gorgeous smile and she had pretty looks”

This is a King Jammy production which was licensed to Hackney’s Unity Sound label because of their strong connections.

Pretty soon Boops was inescapable, as is evident from Daddy Kool’s pre-release chart of April 19, 1986:

1. King Kong – Don’t Touch My Boops – Jammys
2. Anthony Red Rose – Me No Want No Boops – Firehouse
3. Michael Prophet – Nah Call Me John Boops – Techniques
4. Sugar Minott – John Boops – Cornerstone
5. Lyrical – No Try No Boops – 10 Rossevelt Avenue
6. Pompidou – I Love My Boops – Striker Lee
7. Super Dad – See Boops Ya – Blue Mountain
8. Radicals – Rum Tree – Roots Radics Gang
9. Ringo – See Foreign Deh – Harry J
10. Delroy Williams – Watchdog – Rockers

Sly and Robbie hit the national charts one year later with their own take on the fad… (major labels being unable to keep up with the street commentary of reggae culture).

Papa Charjan And Jack Reuben Featuring Higgy Rygin – Moany Moany (Shuttle Records 12” 1986)

Shuttle operated out of Haringey, with offices around Turnpike Lane and Green Lanes. This is a Fatman production. Fatman runs a longstanding soundsystem and label. There’s a nice piece on him here from Penny Reel’s 1981 NME Soundsystem Splashdown feature.

At that time, Fatman’s selector was Ribs (interviewed here). But Ribs then left Fatman to start his own Unity Hi-Fi sound. Charjan and his brother Reuben were two of Unity’s first deejays (soon to be joined by Peter Bouncer, Navigator and the Ragga Twins amongst many other key ‘nuum figures).

But then Charjan and Reuben really upset the applecart by leaving Unity and joining Fatman. Apparently the animosity is made abundantly clear in Fatman/Unity clash tapes from the mid eighties.

Whatever the history, this is a boss tune which equals most of the Boops ouevre for its slightly dodgy gender politics. In fact it’s intriguingly similar to “Rabbit” by that other cockney MC crew Chas and Dave. Charjan and Reuben’s double delivery on the chorus is breathtaking and there are some neat rhymes here also.

Admiral Bailey & Chaka Demus – One Scotch (Unity Sounds 12″ 1986)

Bailey and Chaka rework John Lee Hooker’s blues standard for Jammys, with added bonus reference to the Joe Gibbs oddity “In Heaven There Is No Beer (It’s Why We Drink It Here)” by The Happs.

Papa Charjan And Jack Reuben Featuring Higgy Rygin – One Scotch, One Tennants, One Brew (Shuttle Records 12” 1986)

“If you like drinking, let’s go on a drinking spree”

Charjan and Reuben come again with a London ting. Frankly the prospect of a scotch, a can of Tennents and a Special Brew is enough to make me feel decidedly queasy. Still, might be one to test out one weekend, purely in the interests of research…

Unfortunately my copy didn’t come with the ace picture cover, so it’s thanks to discogs for that. It does have this sticker on it though:

Other odes to Tennents Super include Alabama 3′s “Old Purple Tin” and “Purple Boy” by Smart Alex and Clever Cloggs.

Rebel MC and Double Trouble – Street Tuff (Desire 7”, 1989)

Not everyone realises this is the same bassline as Toots and The Maytals’ “54-46″ but then it is at 120bpm or thereabouts. A big chart hit, which will always remind me of everyone on the cheese factory production line grooving away when it came on Radio One.

Rebel MC went on to mutate into Congo Natty, but I guess everyone knows that now?

ADDENDUM

The Boops riddim was reversioned again earlier this year, but none of the tunes particularly grabbed me. So this remains an archival selection for your delectation.

As usual this is simply what I’ve picked up over the years so I make no apology if your favourite cut isn’t included. Feel free to have a heated debate in the comments boxes, or do your own mix – or simply enjoy the music for what it is!

Cooler Man – Kanjiwatanye

I absolutely love this tune. I like how it manages to be catchy as fuck – even though I have no clue what any of the lyrics are. Full marks for the rockstone delivery also.

The video is great, just random stuff that he and his mates are up to in the hood. Also some nice UK t-shirts on show, a couple of guys in football garms, whereas Coolerman himself opts for the bizarre choice of a Keep Britain Tidy tee – and rocks it!

Not to mention the re-appearance of all Ugandan rudebwoys’ favourite tipple – Bell Lager…

I can’t seem to turn up any info on Coolerman, leave a comment if you can find anything out – the people need to know!

I don’t spend enough time with my records (who does?). Most of my music listening is done on the walk to and from work.

Sitting at home in my cupboard the other night, I discovered that the ace Dug Out label were re-releasing “Hole Up Your Hand” by legendary north London reggae MC Raymond Naphtali on ten inch. Awesome news!

Then I thought about the pile of records in the living room, sitting there. Not exactly unloved, but certainly not attended to very well. And yes, eight quid plus postage is a reasonable amount of cash to lay down for such an item, but it seemed like quite a lot for something I wouldn’t hear that much and would play out even less (if ever – this is the first year for a while that I’ve not taken to the decks. And actually that is OK).

As TIm P over at Dancecrasher pointed out, Honest Jons are doing Dug Out mp3s for 60 pence a pop. Which is frankly a bit of a no-brainer, even for an mp3 sceptic like me. You get them straight away, for cheap, and you are still supporting a great shop and a great label (and presumably the artist/producer as well).

I splashed out on a whole bunch of Dug Out releases, including the stone cold classic “He Was A Friend” by King Kong, which I had also baulked at buying on wax a little while back. It’s a digital lament to the late Tenor Saw which has been much in demand (I think it was even on the notorious Boomshakalacka “Best 100 tunes of the eighties” list?).

All the tunes are great and I have been listening to them repeatedly on the commute. There isn’t the same visceral thrill of holding the vinyl in your hand and lowering the needle, but this lot will do me fine as a compromise.

Then comrade T-woc pointed out on the Blood & Fire forum that Boomkat has bundled up a bunch of “psyche-dub” mp3s as part of their weekly “14 tracks” special. 14 tracks for 7 quid. Seems about right to me.

I’ve been listening to a fair bit of mad stuff recently, so this fitted the bill nicely: some droney, some noisy, some abstract. But all tied together in a bassy, echoey package. Mostly artists I had never heard of – or had heard of, but not got the chance to investigate properly.

Again, high quality stuff for the most part, that I am enjoying wading through. It reminds me of the seminal Macro Dub Infection and Isolationism compilations that Kevin Martin put together for Virgin in the nineties. Dub as process (rather than a genre) which links the outer fringes of all sorts of mindwarping musics. It’s a great bit of curation in fact – something much needed in the avalanche of new things to check out… I’ve now got some new things to investigate and some future purchases to make.

If people keep doing good stuff like this, then I’ll keep supporting it. Hopefully I’ll not be alone in doing that – which means we might have turned quite a significant corner in terms of our little zone of the music industry surviving.