Reggae 'inna' England - British town to pay tribute to reggae history
The British town of Huddersfield is paying tribute to its Jamaican/reggae history, by building a sound system based on the type Jamaican immigrants played there during the 1970s.
It is being assembled by Paul Huxtable, a Huddersfield disc jockey who also operates the Axis sound system.
The project is part of the Let's Go Sound System Project, and revisits an era when Jamaicans played their music at dances in the Yorkshire town.
Many of those dances took place at the Silver Sands Club in the Venn Street area, which helped put Huddersfield on the British reggae map.
Mandeep Samra, head of the Let's Go Sound System Project, told the Sunday Observer that saluting Huddersfield's sound system roots stemmed from informal discussions about the town's reggae history.
"I have a love of reggae, particularly roots-reggae, so I was naturally interested in knowing about stories relating to sound systems in Huddersfield," he said. "This led to putting together an application to develop this project."
The Axis 'sound' will include a turntable, speakers, an empty speaker displaying a film and a set of rare dub and reggae records. Once completed, it is scheduled to 'clash' with other regional sound systems as well play the British carnival circuit.
Dates are confirmed for the Deighton Carnival on June 29 and the Huddersfield Carnival on July 13. An exhibition of photos documenting the heyday of reggae dances and clubs in Huddersfield is also being planned.
Located in Yorkshire, north England, Huddersfield became the go-to spot for Jamaican dances in the 1970s. Leading reggae artistes would perform at dances or concerts in the Venn Street area, but after a shooting incident in the late 1970s, Samra said venues became skeptical about hosting these events.
According to the 2011 British census, there are approximately 4,047 black Caribbean nationals in Huddersfield. Jamaicans comprised most of the West Indians who migrated to Britain after the second World War. Many who moved to the 'Mother Country' in the 1950s took with them the sound system culture that had emerged in Kingston during that decade. By the 1960s, sound systems blared throughout London and the Midlands, areas where Jamaicans largely settled. Coxson and Saxon are just two of the British 'sounds' that gave artistes like singer Maxi Priest a start.
Many of those dances took place at the Silver Sands Club in the Venn Street area, which helped put Huddersfield on the British reggae map.
Mandeep Samra, head of the Let's Go Sound System Project, told the Sunday Observer that saluting Huddersfield's sound system roots stemmed from informal discussions about the town's reggae history.
"I have a love of reggae, particularly roots-reggae, so I was naturally interested in knowing about stories relating to sound systems in Huddersfield," he said. "This led to putting together an application to develop this project."
The Axis 'sound' will include a turntable, speakers, an empty speaker displaying a film and a set of rare dub and reggae records. Once completed, it is scheduled to 'clash' with other regional sound systems as well play the British carnival circuit.
Dates are confirmed for the Deighton Carnival on June 29 and the Huddersfield Carnival on July 13. An exhibition of photos documenting the heyday of reggae dances and clubs in Huddersfield is also being planned.
Located in Yorkshire, north England, Huddersfield became the go-to spot for Jamaican dances in the 1970s. Leading reggae artistes would perform at dances or concerts in the Venn Street area, but after a shooting incident in the late 1970s, Samra said venues became skeptical about hosting these events.
According to the 2011 British census, there are approximately 4,047 black Caribbean nationals in Huddersfield. Jamaicans comprised most of the West Indians who migrated to Britain after the second World War. Many who moved to the 'Mother Country' in the 1950s took with them the sound system culture that had emerged in Kingston during that decade. By the 1960s, sound systems blared throughout London and the Midlands, areas where Jamaicans largely settled. Coxson and Saxon are just two of the British 'sounds' that gave artistes like singer Maxi Priest a start.
