Reggae superstar Lee Scratch Perry to play on Hastings Oval

The man who created the sound of Bob Marley and the Wailers is appearing live on Hastings Pier this summer as part of a spectacular Reggae festival
Lee Scratch Perry at DLWP SUS-180111-162902001Lee Scratch Perry at DLWP SUS-180111-162902001
Lee Scratch Perry at DLWP SUS-180111-162902001

The enigmatic, and, by his own admission, mad, Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry will be at the controls at Hastings Reggae Festival which tales place on the Oval on Saturday July 27 from 12pm - 11pm.

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Also perfroming are Aswad, Adele Harley, Solo Banton and General Levy, with sounds from the Trojan Sounds System.

Perry created one of the most distinctive and sought-after sounds in the history of Jamaican music at his famed Black Ark Studio.

His sonic sleight of hand included using samples long before they became a recognised technique.

He did things in the studio that no-one had ever done before, recording garden implements for beats, running tapes backwards and sampling a crying baby.

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The wide open spaces of his dub mixes were all the more remarkable given the size of his recording space - a 12ft square box.

Perry, who was once referenced as a ‘musical Salvador Dali’, said he had received Reggae from God and given it to Bob Marley as a present.

Wherever you look in the history of Reggae, Perry has invariably left his indelible mark, whether it be co-producing the classic Police and Thieves with Junior Murvin or producing groundbreaking recordings such as Super Ape (1976) and Blackboard Jungle (1973).

Bob Marley once lodged in Perry’s front room, at the start of their long association.

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It was Perry who was the brains behind Mr Brown, with its spooky organ riffs. It was the song that brought Bob Marley and the Wailers to the attention of a wider audience, after being pre-released in Britain.

Perry is 83 years old now but can still dance for an hour on one leg, indicative of the fact that he never stands still, his unique artistic vision continually finding new and even stranger outlets.

Founded in 1968, Trojan Records was the UK’s leading record label to ignite the reggae explosion that had swept across the country by the end of the sixties.

Tickets for the festival are selling fast and are available from www.skiddle.com.

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