Artist.......: Steel Pulse
Album........: Live Au Printemps de Bourges
Label........: n/a
Genre........: Reggae
Catnr........: n/a
Source.......: DVBS
Rip.date.....: 2014-05-20
Str.date.....: 2013-04-26
Quality......: 214kbps/48.0kHz/Joint Stereo
Url..........: http://www.steelpulse.com/
track title time
1. Live Au Printemps de Bourges 66:00
Runtime 66:00
Size 101.51
Release Notes:
Steel Pulse were one of Britain's greatest reggae bands, rivaled only by Aswad
in terms of creative and commercial success. Generally a protest-minded
Rastafarian outfit, Steel Pulse started out playing authentic roots reggae with
touches of jazz and Latin music, and earned a substantial audience among white
U.K. punks as well. Their 1978 debut, Handsworth Revolution, is still regarded
by many critics as a landmark and a high point of British reggae. As the '80s
wore on, slick synthesizers and elements of dance and urban R&B gradually crept
into their sound, even as their subject matter stayed on the militant side. By
the late '80s, Steel Pulse had won a Grammy and were working full-fledged
crossover territory, but never reached the same degree of commercial acceptance
as Aswad or Inner Circle. They subsequently returned to a tough-minded, rootsy
sound that nonetheless made concessions to contemporary trends with touches of
dancehall and hip-hop.
Steel Pulse were formed in 1975 in Birmingham, England, specifically the ghetto
area of Handsworth. The founding members were schoolmates David Hinds (the
primary songwriter as well as the lead singer and guitarist), Basil Gabbidon
(guitar), and Ronnie "Stepper" McQueen (bass). All of them came from poor West
Indian immigrant families, and none had much musical experience. They took some
time to improve their technical proficiency, often on Rasta-slanted material by
Bob Marley and Burning Spear. McQueen suggested the group name, after a
racehorse, and they soon fleshed out the lineup with drummer Steve "Grizzly"
Nisbett, keyboardist/vocalist Selwyn "Bumbo" Brown, percussionist/vocalist
Alphonso "Fonso" Martin, and vocalist Michael Riley.
Steel Pulse initially had difficulty finding live gigs, as club owners were
reluctant to give them a platform for their "subversive" Rastafarian politics.
Luckily, the punk movement was opening up new avenues for music all over
Britain, and also finding a spiritual kinship with protest reggae. Thus, the
group wound up as an opening act for punk and new wave bands like the Clash, the
Stranglers, Generation X, the Police, and XTC, and built a broad-based audience
in the process. In keeping with the spirit of the times, Steel Pulse developed a
theatrical stage show that leavened their social commentary with satirical
humor; many of the members dressed in costumes that mocked traditional British
archetypes (Riley was a vicar, McQueen a bowler-wearing aristocrat, Martin a
coach footman, etc.). The band issued two singles -- "Kibudu, Mansetta and
Abuku" and "Nyah Love" -- on small independent labels, then came to the
attention of Island Records after opening for Burning Spear.
Steel Pulse's first single for Island was the classic "Ku Klux Klan," which
happened to lend itself well to the band's highly visual, costume-heavy
concerts. It appeared on their 1978 debut album, Handsworth Revolution, which
was soon hailed as a classic of British reggae by many fans and critics, thanks
to songs like the title track, "Macka Splaff," "Prodigal Son," and "Soldiers."
Riley departed before the follow-up, 1979's Tribute to the Martyrs, which
featured other key early singles in "Sound System" and "Babylon Makes the
Rules," and solidified the band's reputation for uncompromising political
ferocity. That reputation went out the window on 1980's Caught You, a more
pop-oriented set devoted to dance tracks and lovers rock. By that point, Steel
Pulse were keen on trying to crack the American market, and went on tour over
Island's objections. Caught You was issued in the States as Reggae Fever, but
failed to break the group, and they soon parted ways with Island.
Steel Pulse moved on to Elektra/Asylum, which released an LP version of their
headlining set at the 1981 Reggae Sunsplash Festival. Their studio debut was
1982's True Democracy, a generally acclaimed set that balanced bright,
accessible production with a return to social consciousness. It became their
first charting LP in America, making both the pop and R&B listings. The slicker
follow-up, Earth Crisis, was released in 1984 and featured producer Jimmy
"Senyah" Haynes subbing on guitar and bass for founding members Gabbidon and
McQueen, both of whom were gone by the end of the recording sessions. They were
replaced by guitarist Carlton Bryan and bassist Alvin Ewen for 1986's Babylon
the Bandit, another Haynes-produced effort that ranked as the group's most
polished, synth-centered record to date. Although it featured the powerful "Not
King James Version" and won a Grammy for Best Reggae Album, it sold poorly and
alienated some of the band's older fans; as a result, Elektra soon dropped them.
Steel Pulse resurfaced on MCA in 1988 with State of Emergency, their most
explicitly crossover-oriented album yet. They also contributed the track "Can't
Stand It" to the soundtrack of Spike Lee's classic Do the Right Thing. In 1991,
they released another heavily commercial album, the Grammy-nominated Victims,
which featured the single "Taxi Driver." Backing up the song's views, Steel
Pulse filed a class-action lawsuit against the New York City Taxi and Limousine
Commission, charging that drivers discriminated against blacks and particularly
Rastafarians. Founding member Fonso Martin left that year, reducing Steel Pulse
to a core trio of Hinds, Nisbett, and Brown. Their backing band still featured
Ewen and was elsewhere anchored by guitarist Clifford "Moonie" Pusey,
keyboardist Sidney Mills, and drummer/percussionist Conrad Kelly.
The 1992 live album Rastafari Centennial marked the beginning of a return to the
group's musical roots, and earned another Grammy nomination. The following year,
they performed at Bill Clinton's inaugural celebration, the first reggae band to
appear at such an event. 1994's studio album Vex completed Steel Pulse's
re-embrace of classic roots reggae, though it also nodded to contemporary
dancehall with several guest toasters and a digital-flavored production. 1997's
Rage and Fury continued in a similar vein, and was nominated for a Grammy. In
1999, the group released another collection of live performances, Living Legacy.