memories of bob marley: glyn pope

marco

– 10/05/2011Posted in: Magazine Interviews

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

A ray of Kingston sunshine in rainy Northampton;

interviewing Bob Marley

I was taking part in a pub quiz, a chilly rainy November night. The sort of time you’d rather be by the fire with a book. I don’t like quizzes. You either know the answers or you don’t. Plus they tend to attract pompous asses who know the answers, and generally I don’t.

‘Now, the music round,’ the quiz master announced.

The guys on the next table caught my attention. 1980’s Mullet haircuts, though the fashion had been dead for twenty years, fat bellies after too much beer, smarmy looks on their faces telling the world, ‘We’re guys, we know everything about music.’ I know a bit as well so I felt more comfortable. A few questions were asked, I wrote down my answers.

Then the Quiz Master said, ‘In 1973 Bob Marley was promoting which album on his tour of Britain?’

I stuck up my hand. The music guys looked over at me as if to say, ‘It’s obvious.’ One took a large swig of his beer in contempt.

‘Yes?’ the Quiz Master asked.

‘I was wondering if I got an extra point? You see, I interviewed Bob Marley on that tour.’

The guys jaws dropped. They wanted to fall to their knees, I could see that. As for myself, I didn’t even smile, just kept the quizzical look about my face.

It was also a cold rainy night on November 30^th 1973. I was in my second year at college. I was editor of the college student’s newspaper with the dubious title of Roach. The college, at Northampton UK, was small, a few hundred students. I went to every event that happened; discos, folk clubs, plays, poetry readings, a recorder ensemble and when we got them, bands. I did see some good bands, I remember few of their names. We were a third rate college getting what was considered third rate bands. The Stones and The Who had played Leeds University. We got The Wailers.

Our music man on the paper knew all there was to know about music. He said that he and I should go and interview The Wailers. I had absolutely no idea who The Wailers were. I’d never heard their music. With cassette recorder at the ready we walked the long corridor to their dressing room, which, in reality was the sports changing room. We knocked on the door and entered. I admit to being intimidated by what I saw. There were a lot of black guys in the room which is something I wasn’t used to seeing when I was growing up. They didn’t look aggressive but they weren’t welcoming us with open arms either.

I sit here now trying to remember the scene. How we take digital cameras and recording equipment for granted these days.

I don’t know how many people there were in that room. I only really remember Bob Marley, and him very clearly and the bass player constantly plucking away. Bob Marley had charisma. I’m not saying that in retrospect. It was just obvious. He was also a lovely man. Who wants to be interviewed by a couple of geeks, in a grotty third rate college on a cold November night when all they wanted to be was back in Jamaica which was where they went the next day.

At the actual interview, I didn’t understand a word he said, so I contributed nothing. It was only when it had been transcribed for the college paper that I understood. Everything he talked about that night came back to religion, the Rasta Judeo/Christian idea. Sadly the tape and the hard copy no longer exist. What else I remember is that Bob Marley drank milk and honey and had a large bag of cannabis with him.

At the end of the interview Bob Marley said that we could record the concert from the mixing desk. We stood watching from our vantage point. We spoke to the mixing guy, a white man hired for the job in the UK. He told us that he’s been offered to mix for them on their tour of the States, but, he told us, ‘I won’t be as they aren’t going anywhere.’

Glyn Pope. Glyn is an author; his new book is ‘The Doctor, The Plutocrat, and The Mendacious Minster.’ The novel is available for download in all formats at around 4dollars/sterling/euros.Worldwide as a signed paperback from gipopeuk@gmail.com

at £9.99/11.50euros inc.postage except France where the cost is 2euros for postage.

In the United States from http://www.cactusrainpublishing.com/