Black Roots were a roots reggae

Roots reggae

Roots reggae is a subgenre of reggae that deals with the everyday lives and aspirations of the artists concerned, including the spiritual side of Rastafari and with the honoring of God, called Jah by rastafarians. It also is identified with the life of the ghetto sufferer, and the rural poor...

 band from the St. Paul's

St Pauls, Bristol

St Pauls is an inner suburb of Bristol, England, situated just north east of the city centre and west of the M32. It is bounded by the A38, the B4051 and the A4032 roads...

 area of Bristol

Bristol

Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 formed in 1979. They released several albums before splitting up in 1990.

History

The original line-up of the band included Errol Brown (vocals), Delroy O'Gilvie (vocals), Kondwani Ngozi (congas, vocals), Jabulani Ngozi (rhythm guitar), Cordell Francis (lead guitar), Trevor Seivwright (drums), and Derrick King (bass guitar). They soon got into routine of regular performances across the UK and appeared on the first Rockers Roadshow television programme broadcast of Channel 4

Channel 4

Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...

. Their first (self-titled) album was released on their own Nubian label, and the band was commissioned by the BBC

BBC

The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...

 to write and record the theme song to the sitcom The Front Line. They also recorded several sessions for BBC radio, including sessions for John Peel

John Peel

John Robert Parker Ravenscroft, OBE , known professionally as John Peel, was an English disc jockey, radio presenter, record producer and journalist. He was the longest-serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, broadcasting regularly from 1967 until his death in 2004...

's show in 1981 and 1983 and additional sessions for David Jensen

David Jensen

David "Kid" Jensen , is a Danish Canadian-born, British radio DJ.-Early career:Born in a Danish family residing Victoria, British Columbia, Jensen began his career in his home country at the age of sixteen playing jazz and classical music. He then joined Radio Luxembourg at the age of eighteen in...

, and these were issued on the In Session album in 1985 by the BBC. They toured Europe with Eek-A-Mouse

Eek-a-Mouse

Eek-A-Mouse is a Jamaican reggae musician. He is one of the early artists to be described as a "singjay".-Biography:...

 and Linton Kwesi Johnson

Linton Kwesi Johnson

Linton Kwesi Johnson is a UK-based dub poet. He became the second living poet, and the only black poet, to be published in the Penguin Classics series. His poetry involves the recitation of his own verse in Jamaican Patois over dub-reggae, usually written in collaboration with renowned British...

, and performed at the WOMAD Festival in 1985. The band's third album, All Day All Night was produced by Mad Professor

Mad Professor

Mad Professor is a dub music producer and engineer known for his original productions and remix work. He is considered one of the leading producers of dub music’s second generation and was instrumental in transitioning dub into the digital age. He is a prolific producer, contributing to or...

 and featured Vin Gordon

Vin Gordon

Vin Gordon is a Jamaican trombone player.-Biography:Gordon grew up in Jones Town, Kingston, Jamaica as one of eight children. He went to Kingston's catholic Alpha Boys School where he learned to play trombone and string bass. One of his tutors was Lennie Hibbert...

. Several more albums followed, the last, Natural Reaction, in 1990. The band then ceased to exist as a touring concern, although several dub

Dub music

Dub is a genre of music which grew out of reggae music in the 1960s, and is commonly considered a subgenre, though it has developed to extend beyond the scope of reggae...

 albums were released based on their earlier work.

Singer O'Gilvie later formed a new band, Orange Street, and released a solo album, Farm Digging, in 2005.

Bass guitarist Derrick King died on 30 April 2011 at at Frenchay Hospital

Frenchay Hospital

Frenchay Hospital is a large hospital situated in Frenchay, South Gloucestershire, on the outskirts of Bristol, England, part of the North Bristol NHS Trust....

 from respiratory failure, after suffering from Motor Neurone Disease

Motor neurone disease

The motor neurone diseases are a group of neurological disorders that selectively affect motor neurones, the cells that control voluntary muscle activity including speaking, walking, breathing, swallowing and general movement of the body. They are generally progressive in nature, and can cause...

for some time.

Albums

• Black Roots (1983) Kick
• The Front Line (1984) Kick
• In Session (1985) BBC (reissued with bonus tracks on Makasound in 2008)
• All Day All Night (1985) Nubian
• In a Different Style (1988) Nubian
• Live Power (1989) Nubian
• Natural Reaction (1990) Nubian
• Dub Factor: The Mad Professor Mixes (1991)
• With Friends (1993)
• Dub Factor 2: The Dub Judah Mixes (1994)
• Dub Factor 3: Dub Judah & Mad Professor Mixes (1995)
• On The Frontline (2004) Makasound (compilation)
• The Reggae Singles Anthology (2011)

Singles

• "Bristol Rock" (1981)
• "Chanting For Freedom" (1981) Nubian
• "Move On" (1983) Silvertown
• "Juvenile Delinquent"
• "The Frontline"
• "Seeing Your Face"
• "Suzy Wong"
• "Let It Be Me" (1987) Nubian
• "Start Afresh"
• "Zoom" (1989) Nubian

External links

• Black Roots history by Andy Brouwer
• Black Roots at Roots Archives