HERITAGE: Birmingham Roots Reggae Group Steel Pulse Perform Live In Switzerland (1979)

HERITAGE: Birmingham Roots Reggae Group Steel Pulse Perform Live In Switzerland (1979)


February 16, 2023

The hugely influential Steel Pulse broke a lot of ground through the late 1970s and into the '80s. The first non-Jamaican act to win the Grammy Award for Best Reggae Album, they put Birmingham on the map and helped legitimise UK-born reggae musicians within the scene, even supporting Bob Marley & The Wailers on a 12-date European tour in June and July 1978.

A year later, in support of their debut album, Handsworth Revolution, the band—which consisted of David Hinds (lead vocals, guitar), Basil Gabbidon (lead guitar, vocals), and Ronald McQueen (bass); along with Basil's brother Colin briefly on drums and Mykaell Riley (vocals, percussion)—flew out to Switzerland to perform at the Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland.

It was a historic set, but it's their performance of the title track that we're highlighting today. Like much of roots reggae, this was a rallying cry in the face of rising far-right, fascist and racist sentiment that had cause grave division across the UK, including their old stomping ground of the titular Handsworth in Birmingham.

The track's rousing and powerful message executed with the tight musicianship and stage craft they'd honed over the previous few years made this a performance for the history books.




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