Thanks for the link, I’ll have a watch this evening.
A documentary I really enjoyed was “Duke Vin, Count Suckle and The Birth of Ska in Britain”.
Featuring extensive interviews with Duke Vin shortly before he passed. Providing a window into the challenges of those arriving from JA in the 50’s and the beginnings of sound system culture in the UK. Aside from the great legacy of the people and music, the documentary details the absolutely disgusting treatment of immigrants at this time.
Here’s the write up…
London in the 1950s was a cold place in more ways than the obvious. Or so it appeared if you were one of thousands of newly arrived Jamaicans. Many were overqualified for their menial jobs. Thousands of others quite simply could not get work. Discrimination and racial tensions culminated in fierce riots in both Nottingham and Notting Hill Gate.
It was in this environment that the legendary Jamaican soundmen; Duke Vin and Count Suckle arrived in the UK. They both stowed away on a boat from Kingston and brought with them a sound that was sweeping across the small Jamaican island and would later change the face of music in the UK.
This was the sound of ska!
If you check the Island Trading Archive on Palm Pictures Youtube channel there are some very interesting series of (UNCUT) interviews conducted by Steve Barrow with Don Letts, including this one with Duke Vin
Think it was but I don’t think I’ve ever seen it, I generally avoid war films. Graham Kennedy was a very funny man he was in a few serious movies but it was hard to see him without a grin.
There’s a great Aussie movie with Kennedy called Travelling North hard to find but if you can well worth it.
Unfortunately true, I missed the draft by 3 months. I’d already made my mind up I wasn’t going and as a result would’ve spent 2 years on the run or in jail. Thankfully conscription ended just before my birthday.
@Pete_the_painter@AndyP We here in the UK have two reasons to be eternally grateful to Harold Wilson when he was PM: 1) Starting up the Open University; and 2) keeping us out of the Vietnam War (despite LBJ’s bullying).
We weren’t that lucky we have the unfortunate tag of joining every war that America (and Britain for that matter) has participated in since the Boer War.
Japanese movie buffs and Quentin Tarantino fans will know that Lady Snowblood is the inspiration for QT’s Kill Bill. This startling 1973 picture was directed by Toshiya Fujita and stars the fabulous Meiko Kaji as Yuki, the avenging angel/demon of the title. It is of course a violent grindhouse/exploitation film but has an undeniable visual flair and moments of real beauty. Like the Tarantino picture, it is cold and morally empty but hugely entertaining and often gorgeous to look at thanks to Fujita’s skilful direction and Masaki Tamura’s cinematography. I think it’s superior to Tarantino’s homage.
