Interview with Red Ronnie

ivan

– 03/02/2001Posted in: Magazine Interviews

Hello there! If you are new here, you might want to subscribe to the RSS feed for updates on this topic.

In the tentative to reconstruct exactly all the stages of the Bob’s stay in Italy, our magazine is glad to publish an interview with Red Ronnie, journalist and one of the most skilled music critic, showman of the famous TV program “Roxybar”. In June 1980 Gabriele Ansaloni (this is the real name of Red Ronnie. He uses this nickname for compliment to the Formula 1 driver Ronnie Peterson) was working for the magazine “Poster”, the current “Rockstar”, and for the newspaper “Il Resto del Carlino”. In Milan, during the consign of the Golden Disc, Red had the chance to interview Bob Marley. We asked Ron to explain what was his feeling before and after the interview: “He appeared me calm, relaxed and smiling. After I discovered Bob to be intelligent and profound. I was in the Bob room with other 3 journalists even if, after a so long time, I cannot remember who they were”. He remembers in particular a couple of questions asked Bob during that little meeting. The Bob answer put in evidence his incredible wisdom.: “You praise Haile Salassie, the king for you Jamaicans but I was told that he was a dictator and he killed students”.

The Bob answer was: “I know in Italy just Mafia exists and Italians eat just pizza. Is it the truth?” “No” Red answered and Bob said “This is what the newspapers write about you abroad. Do not believe to the newspapers”

Red Ronnie: “I asked him about drugs. I said that he extolled the use of herb but that it is harmful to health. Bob answered that any thing has to be used in his contest. Herb is good in Jamaica where it grows. But if you use it in the western metropolis, it can kill you”. We asked Red a comment about Bob after 20 years he passed. Bob’s message against Babylon still actual especially after what is happening in the world now?: “His thought about peace is actual. To show off the use of herb is not actual any longer. Now we need to be lucid. All things around us aim to let us fool”.

We agree with Red Ronnie. What you considered normal in the 70′s (for the particular social, economical and political contest) is incredible out of date now. Smoking herb helped Marley to create his particular lucidity and his particular feeling with people and things (without this feeling the Marley that all of us know and love would not have existed). An exaggerated use of herb now does not make sense. 30 years ago to smoke a joint needed to open minds to communicate each others with no hypocritical filter. Today the communication is by Internet, thanks to the new technologies that need lucid and ready minds. We do not have to forget that smoking herb, as well as smoking tobaccos, can cause problems and, sometimes, death. The aversion to the drugs, even the light ones, is one of the pillars of the Red Ronnie thought. He did not have fun in S Siro during the concert because of too much smoking people were present.

With this interview our magazine is going to terminate the issues relative to the Bob Italian stay. As soon as possible all interviews and photos will be gathered and republished in one special unique issue.