Steel Pulse Added To “Island Life” WEEK Of Concerts

• 6th Apr 2009

Birmingham Reggae legends Steel Pulse have been confirmed for the line-up of the previously announced Island Life concert festival at London’s Shepherds Bush Empire, which celebrates 50 years of Island Records. Steel Pulse will play on Wednesday 27th May with The Fratellis and Bombay Bicycle Club.

Formed in ’75 Steel Pulse signed to Island at the height of the punk wars in late ‘77. The first Steel Pulse single for Island, ‘Ku Klux Klan’ (a call for resistance against forces of racism) was released in February 1978. Five months later, their debut album ‘Handsworth Revolution’ was released to huge critical acclaim. They went on to support Bob Marley & The Wailers on a European tour in June and July ‘78 and were a crucial part of the punky reggae party Bob Marley sang about as they aligned themselves with the punk movement and played several Rock Against Racism shows with artists such as the Stranglers and XTC and memorably at The Clash RAR show in Victoria Park with Xray Spex and the Tom Robinson Band. They released two more groundbreaking albums for Island – ‘Tribute To The Martyrs’ in ‘79 and ‘Reggae Fever (Caught You)’ in ’80.

The ‘Island Life’ line-up confirmed so far is as follows [NB There are no headliners at these shows; every act appears with equal billing]:

26th May – SLY & ROBBIE & THE COMPASS POINT ALLSTARS featuring VERY SPECIAL GUESTS;

27th May – THE FRATELLIS; STEEL PULSE; BOMBAY BICYCLE CLUB;

28th May – CAT STEVENS/YUSUF and friends, BAABA MAAL

29th May – PAUL WELLER; ERNEST RANGLIN; SPOOKY TOOTH

30th May – KEANE; TOM TOM CLUB; LADYHAWKE

31st May – AMY WINEHOUSE; TOOTS & THE MAYTALS; I BLAME COCO

2009 is the 50th anniversary of the founding of Island Records, arguably the most prestigious record label in the history of British music. To mark this milestone the label is collaborating with Island founder Chris Blackwell to arrange the Island 50 festival. Chris Blackwell founded the Island label in Kingston, Jamaica in 1959 with capital of just £1000. Relocating to London in the early 60s Blackwell built the most diverse and enviable back catalogue of any independent record label in history. From Island’s early Jamaican roots in ska and rock-steady, through the label’s expansion to become the cutting edge of progressive rock in the late 60s, and then on to the signing of such international superstars as Bob Marley and U2, Blackwell brought to Island a unique vision and passion which still informs the label’s approach to this day.

Says Blackwell: “When I recorded ‘Lance Hayward at the Half Moon’ in 1959 at Federal Records Studio in Kingston, Jamaica, I had no inkling what path this had set me on. It has been an honour and a privilege to work with some of the greatest musical artists of all time. It was always my intention at Island to make records that stood the test of time, and I’m proud that Island is still a potent force in music 50 years since that first release. I’m very excited to be collaborating with the label to celebrate Island’s 50th birthday and I’m particularly excited about the week of shows in London.”

The Island label has been responsible for the careers of some of the biggest stars in music including U2, Bob Marley, Cat Stevens, Traffic, Free, Fairport Convention, Nick Drake, Sandy Denny, Toots & The Maytals, John Martyn, Marianne Faithfull, Aswad, Tom Waits, King Sunny Ade, Third World, Roxy Music, Robert Palmer, the B52s, Sly & Robbie, Melissa Etheridge, The Slits, Steel Pulse, Grace Jones, Tom Tom Club, Pulp, Tricky, Talvin Singh, and latterly Amy Winehouse, PJ Harvey, DJ Shadow, Sugababes, Keane, The Fratellis, Scott Matthews, Paul Weller, The Feeling, Portishead and Florence & The Machine.