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DESMOND DEKKER, BOB MARLEY AND UB40. THE SOUND OF REGGAE.

Reggae is a musical genre that originated from Jamaica and gained popularity in the 1960s. The genre was highly influenced by American jazz, ska, rocksteady and rhythm and blues.  

Usually, reggae music is off beat, has a slow tempo and is drum and bass heavy. Lyrics often were politicised and stressed the social and economic injustices in the world. The genre is often linked to Rastafarianism and has spread to countries across the world. Reggae spread to the UK in the 70s and influenced bands such as UB40, Steel Pulse and Aswad.

Desmond Dekker, Bob Marley and the Wailers and UB40 are three of the most influential and successful reggae artists of all time. See below a little about each artist. 

Desmond Dekker

Desmond Dekker (1941 – 2006) was a ska, reggae and rocksteady singer from Jamaica. From a young age he enjoyed singing hymns and while working as a welder he was encouraged to pursue a career in music. He released his first single 2 years after signing a record deal; he also worked with the Jamaican vocal group The Aces. 

Dekker has released 12 studio albums and 47 singles. In the UK he released 7 singles, ‘The Israelites’ reached no 1 in 1969, ‘You Can Get it if You Really Want it’ reached no.2 in 1970 and ‘It Miek’ reached no.7 in 1969. 

‘The Israelites’ was the first UK no.1 and combined Rastafarian with rude boy concerns. It was written after hearing an argument. ‘You Can Get it if You Really Want’ was written by Jimmy Cliff but then released as a cover by Desmond Dekker a few weeks after. 


Bob Marley


Bob Marely (1945-1981) is considered as one of the pioneers of reggae. His writing style and vocal sound are recognisable around the world and is well known for fusing reggae, ska and rocksteady to create his own style of music. He was a Rastafarian and became an icon, his music often had a sense of spirituality and peace. Marley was spotted by Desmond Dekker.


Bob Marley and the Wailers formed in 1963 by Peter Tosh, Bob Marley and Bunny Wailer. Singers Junior Braithwaite, Beverley Kelso and Cherry Smith joined late 1963.


Bob Marely and the Wailers released 13 studio albums, 6 live albums, 1 soundtrack album and 133 singles. The group had 7 singles in the Uk singles charts including ‘Is This Love’ (1978), ‘No Woman No Cry’ (1983), ‘Buffalo Soldier’ (1983) and ‘One Love/People Get Ready’ (1984).

UB40


UB40 are an English reggae and pop band from Birmingham formed in 1978. The band is named after the Unemployment Benefit Form 40 and was formed when Ali Campbell, Jimmy Brown and Earl Falconer started to rehearsing reggae songs and their own work. They then were joined by Yomi Babayemi, Norman Hassan, Brain Travers and Jimmy Lynn.


The band were inspired by ska, folk and reggae, their early music was influenced by analogue synthesisers, dub, saxophone and psychedelic rock.


The band released 20 studio albums, 7 live albums and 62 singles. They have sold over 70 million records worldwide. ‘Red Red Wine’ (1983), ‘I Got You Babe’ (1985) and ‘(I Can’t Help) Falling In Love With You’ (1993) all reached no.1 in the UK single charts. They also had 14 singles in the top 10. ‘Labour of Love’ (1983) and ‘Promises and Lies’ (1993) were both no.1 albums in the UK.


UB40 have been monimated for the Grammy Award for Best Reggae Album 4 times and have been nominated for a Brit Award for Best British Group. 

THE REQUEST SHOW PLAYLIST

by Mark Wilson • 19 Nov, 2023
28th April, 2024 Here's this week's playlist from our Sunday request show. Many of our listeners have been asking if they can get a list of all the songs we play, so here it is. Gary Dixon was in charge this Sunday with producer Lucy. This weeks theme was songs about chess pieces. If you haven't heard of us before make sure you join us every Sunday 10am.

THE CHAIN

21 Sept, 2023
Can you continue The Chain? Our new tea time feature seems to have got you talking. The Chain is a collection of songs that all link together. Each weekday evening (except Fridays), Paul Mumford adds two more links to the chain and it's up to you to choose which song will carry on the connection for the following day.

CLASSIC CLIPS

02 Jul, 2023
Here on Forest Gold, we love to celebrate peoples birthday's. So here are 5 birthdays in September from musicians that have had a major influence in the music industry. You may even share a birthday with one of these legends.
Help to keep us on air

WE'RE 21 YEARS YOUNG

by websitebuilder • 29 Jun, 2023
This year Classic Hits Forest Gold celebrates its 21st Birthday! From the very beginning the aim was to create a radio station we would want to listen to. 21 years on, we are now one of the fastest growing internet radio stations in Essex. But in order for us to continue doing just that we need your help. This is why.

ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT DURAN DURAN

04 Jun, 2023
Here's one of our potted histories. Everything you need to know about a band or artist we play on Classic Hits Forest Gold all squeezed into 500 words (ish) (just in case you were going to count). So pull up a chair and find out everything you need to know about Duran Duran. But don't get too comfy, it is only 500 words (ish).
JERRY LEE LEWIS IN 250 WORDS (ish)

JERRY LEE LEWIS IN 250 WORDS (ish)

30 Oct, 2022
Here's one of our potted histories. Everything you need to know about a band or artist we play on Classic Hits Forest Gold all squeezed into 250 words (ish) (just in case you were going to count). So pull up a chair and find out everything you need to know about Jerry Lee Lewis. But don't get too comfy, it is only 250 words (ish).

CHAS & DAVE IN 250 WORDS (ish)

01 May, 2022
Here's one of our potted histories. Everything you need to know about a band or artist we play on Classic Hits Forest Gold all squeezed into 400 words (ish) (just in case you were going to count). So pull up a chair and find out everything you need to know about Chas & Dave. But don't get too comfy, it is only 250 words (ish).

All You Need To Know About Classical Music

06 Mar, 2022
Here's one of our potted histories. Everything you need to know about a musical genre we play on Classic Hits Forest Gold all squeezed into 600 words (ish) (just in case you were going to count). So pull up a chair and find out everything you need to know about classical music. But don't get too comfy, it is only 600 words (ish).

PHIL COLLINS IN 400 WORDS (ish)

27 Feb, 2022
Here's one of our potted histories. Everything you need to know about a band or artist we play on Classic Hits Forest Gold all squeezed into 400 words (ish) (just in case you were going to count). So pull up a chair and find out everything you need to know about Phil Collins. But don't get too comfy, it is only 400 words (ish).

MEAT LOAF IN 400 WORDS (ish)

23 Jan, 2022
Here's one of our potted histories. Everything you need to know about a band or artist we play on Classic Hits Forest Gold all squeezed into 400 words (ish) (just in case you were going to count). So pull up a chair and find out everything you need to know about Meat Loaf. But don't get too comfy, it is only 400 words (ish).
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