Heart of a Punk Soul of a Rasta

Greetings you fine person singular. Even though you are lost and have inadvertently stumbled upon us, you are most welcome. This is a Fanzine, in case you hadn't twigged. In this month's issue we shall do as we have always done and bark on insanely about the music we love, whilst keeping mum about the music that bores us shitless. Somewhere within the unmitigated rubbish that follows we hope you will find some meaning, and if you do please let us know and we'll point you in the direction of the BIG HOUSE.

We at Heart of a Punk / Soul of a Rasta are not here to preach at you, or browbeat you. We're not pedagogues (in fact we've never even been abroad), but we do have an evangelical message to impart. And this is it: "Music should not be a transitory thing it should reside eternally in our hearts and in our souls. And this is why. Unlike any other art form music has been with us from day one. It's been around longer than God's dog! And through out the history of mankind there has never been a culture whether ancient or modern, that has been without music in some form. Whether shit or shallow, spiritual or divine music has abided with us, from the first smack of our infantile arses to the final rapping of the sod upon our coffin lids. So listen…..do you hear it?…….yes? Good isn't it?

So come together, enjoy and cherish, then go forth and sin no more, and you! Yes you, the small boy. I don't want to see you standing outside my office ever again! - Okay sermon over, I'm finished. Doctor! You can put me back in dark place now.

Now a strange thing happened on the 2nd of February, The White Stripes let it be known that they were no more.

Eh!!!!?

And then the NME (with only 10 months left to live) commemorated the demise of Meg & Jack by issuing a White Stripes edition of the mag. But what the hell is going on? Have I had a blow to the head? Have I been asleep in front of the Calor Gas heater again? Coz as far as I'm concerned The White Stripes disbanded on the 28th November 2007! They did! I know for sure. Because that was the day they didn't turn up to play at the NEC in Birmingham. I remember it very clearly, I had to get a refund and shit. And getting a refund and shit is something I don't forget in a hurry. And I had to borrow my wife's glasses to read that miniscule writing on the back of the tickets that said shit like "you might be getting your ticket money back, but you certainly won't be getting your booking fee back BOZO!"

So don't give me any of that guff about The White Stripes finishing on the 2nd of February 2011, they finished on the 28th of November 2007, which is now well over three years ago! So the only question that remains unanswered is: when are The White Stripes going to reform?

Hey! Did you watch the Reggae Britannia documentary! You did? Me too! It was great wasn't it? Yeah well, it was good anyway. But why was it was narrated by Ruby Turner? OK so she did work with UB40 once, but it was a bizarre choice, especially when most of the key contributors to the documentary are now working in broadcasting. And when all is said and done Ruby Turner is a the SOUL SINGER, isn't she?

And the documentary ended with the words "even though reggae has passed away". Even though reggae has passed away! I've heard some bollocks in my time but this just about takes the fuckin hob nob! And the documentary seemed to intimate that reggae "passed away" around 1989 when Soul II Soul were in their pomp. Hum! Was this documentary some kind of SOUL conspiracy against REGGAE!

Anyway the ending seemed like silliness built on silliness. I guess the makers just couldn't think of a way to end the programme, or didn't know the difference between SOUL & REGGAE. And drawing a line in '89 left me thinking if "reggae passed away" then, how come Denis Bovell, UB40, Steel Pulse, The Slits, Misty in Roots, Mikey Dread etc have all made records since. And what about the REGGAE ROOTS DUB of Dreadzone & Ziontrain and the all the albums by PAMA International? And if reggae has passed away, how come Madness released a reggae single "Forever Young" last year? And what about the reggae found in the work of Peter Doherty and Babyshambles, Kid British and a plethora of bands across the country like the Heels in Birmingham, Babyhead and Laid Blak in Bristol and and and.....all the other bands that plough on regardless of hype and bullshit keeping the righteous fire of Reggae Britannia burning?

No, Reggae hasn't "passed away", and roots reggae is not a dead language, not in Britain, and certainly not in the wider world. Now I'm off to watch the Reggae Britannia documentary again, but in my absence, here a few names who didn't get a mention, or if they did it I was out getting a cup of tea when it happened. Delroy Washington! Misty in Roots!!!! Capital Letters!! Black Roots!!! Bad Manners! The Beat (too busy working)! Jimmy Lindsay! Mikey Dread!!! etc and etc and etc…..

In the next few months we at Heart of a Punk - Soul of a Rasta will attempt to redress the balance redress the balance redress the balance redress the balance redress the balance redress the balance