Last night we went to see the legend that is Jimmy Cliff. OK, some of you might think you've never heard of him but if you've ever heard a reggae song by someone other than Bob Marley, then it's probably by Jimmy. I've been a long-time fan of Jimmy Cliff, going back to the early 70s, but I've never seen him before. When I heard he was playing at the IndigO2 I made sure I got the best seats I could, and, for the first time, managed to nab seats in the Kings Row section of the venue with it's own private bar and lounge. Well swanky before the skanking began.
Jimmy started writing and making music in the mid-60s Jamaican ska scene before rising to international prominence by writing most of the music for and starring in the film, 'The Harder They Come'. Regular readers will remember my glowing reviews of the stage play a few years ago when I saw it more times than was good for my wallet, even heading out to Oxford to see it on tour. The soundtrack album is widely credited as taking reggae to the world - before there was Bob Marley, there was Jimmy Cliff.
Jimmy's music is sunshine and happiness, anger and righteousness, careful lyrics married to a reggae sound to draw you in and dance, letting his words into your head. He's a sadly overlooked songwriter - probably because his genre is reggae - who has finally been inducted into the Rock Hall of Fame. He has a soothing and gentle voice and a nice way of phrasing lyrics, whether his own or other peoples'.
On stage he gave us 1:45 hours of great reggae from his big band, beautifully paced and getting us all on our feet every now and then. He's been in the biz for 40 years so knows how to work a crowd and I'm pleased that he told us we'd made him i-rie! He took us on a journey from his early ska singles through reggae to the more dancy/disco of the '80s and beyond. And the man never stood still, dancing from one side of the stage to the other, skanking, arms and legs all over the place, a bundle of energy on the stage in his gold headband and golden trainers.
We had 'Miss Jamaica' and 'King of Kings'. We had 'The Harder They Come', 'Wonderful World, Beautiful People', 'Many Rivers To Cross', 'The Harder They Come', 'Sitting In Limbo' and 'You Can Get It If You Really Want It'. We had 'Wild World' and 'Sitting In Limbo'. We had 'I Can See Clearly Now' and 'Reggae Night'. Jimmy always has another song to throw at you from different stages of his career. He gave us his anti-war anthem 'Vietnam' but nowadays it's called 'Afghanistan'. He gave us 'Treat The Youths Right' in response to the riots and looting in London and elsewhere in August. He gave us a bongo section when the band all played bongos and percussion for 'Bongo Man'.
If you get the chance to see Jimmy Cliff don't think twice, buy tickets. He gives good show and killer music. Thank you Mr Cliff, come back to London soon!
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