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Wednesday, November 2, 2016

Reggae Time ("Cliff-Notes" version), ha ha

Capital Letters were a reggae band out of Wolverhampton, England and were one of the main players in theSmoking My Ganja'  became one of the best selling reggae records of 1978.  Jerry Dammers of the Specials has said that hearing Smoking My Ganja convinced him that the Specials sound would work.
distinctive homegrown British roots reggae scene that emerged in the late 70's. The Sound of Capital Letters is deep roots-UK style. Championed by influential BBC DJ John peel, Capital Letters breakthrough single '

Headline News, was one of the more critically acclaimed reggae records of 1979 with its finely balanced blend of African, Jamaican, and English influences and songs that covered topics ranging from religion to marijuana legislation to the reign of Idi Amin.

After Headline News, Capital Letters released -Vineyard, a classic sounding UK roots style album.  The band also released 'Bread and Water' an EP, a ska flavored quartet of tracks which saw the light of day in 1980-a nod to the 2-Tone scene that was taking place in the UK at the time.

This band should have been as a well known reggae UK band as Steel Pulse or Aswad but for one reason or another just didn't get those breaks that a band needs to propel them forward.


HEADLINE NEWS

Track List-1. Fire 2. Daddy Was No Murderer 3. President Amin 4. Rumours  5. Smoking My Ganja 6.  Unemployed  7.  Rejoice  8. Buzz Rock 9. Run Run Run 10. Out of Africa  11. UK Skanking (12" mix) 12. Natty Walk (12" mix) 13. Smoking My Ganja (12" mix)

Link: http://www110.zippyshare.com/v/ExB7fjsS/file.html


VINYARD

Track List-1. Mus Mus 2. Murdering Style 3. No Jobs 4. Why. 5. Vinyard  6. How Far 7. Baggawolf  8. Old, Old Wolf 9. Africa Bound 10. Fi Wi Parents

Link: http://www98.zippyshare.com/v/QSFzZspy/file.html

BREAD AND WATER EP

Track List-1. Bread and Water 2. Do We Really Need a Government  3. Cheap School Meals  4. Run Man
Run

Link: http://www31.zippyshare.com/v/KtIJSaF5/file.html

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THANKS as always to our always reliable reggae-go-to-guy in the UK, the great Cliff.....thanks so much for all you do, brother!




2 comments:

  1. Right on, never heard Capital Letters so thanks for this.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Impressed to see this. I saw Capital Letters live at Hereford Technical College (uk) in 1979, and they were most excellent. I still have the badge somewhere

    ReplyDelete