Tribute To The Queens Of Lovers Rock Reggae..

Oh my gosh where do i start here?

Ok here goes..As you can see from the flyer above and title this is going to be a blog about one of the BIG BIG passions in my life...You all know i'm simply nuts about Reggae music & have been from my early teen years listening to The Ranking Miss P on her radio 1 show and hunting the record shops of Middlesbrough for records or tapes of the top artists of the time like Maxi Priest, Aswad, UB40, Bob Marley, Freddie McGregor, Musical Youth.....The list was endless but getting hold of the records & tapes was so hard...The 1st album i bought was the one above at Alan Fearnleys record store in Middlesbrough...I'd heard this soft Reggae, LOVERS ROCK on the radio and recognised a few of the artists on the cover.......I was hooked and played the choons over and over, i wanted more, i'd been hit by something that truly blew me away.

Years passed and my tastes in music we're becoming varied and i'd dip into soul, jazz, funky stuff and chicago house music which was big in the late 80's..i still enjoyed listening to the reggae choons but there wasn't much coming through and of course there wasn't the online radio stations or the internet to hear newer stuff...Having moved south to Norfolk i would hit the many record stores hunting for reggae cd's and buying maybe a dozen at a time each week on my day off to check out and then torture my workmates with, playing them constantly at work...i needed to hear that LOVERS ROCK again i was driven to find that perfect choon i'd heard so many years before...300+ cd's later and i found it & many others i'd enjoyed & yearned to hear again.....This is that choon below.

Moving on and the internet is becoming a big part of our lives i discover Kofi is coming to England & is doing an Intimate show in London in november...I discuss it with my wife Jayne and tell her it would be the perfect birthday present if  we could get tickets and a nice trip to London to see the sights ect..We talked some more and as it was our 13th wedding anniversary a few days after the show we were set to try to get tickets...The magic started when Kofi's manager Christopher Hills informed me on Facebook he'd reserved 2 tickets for us...SHOCKED STUNNED SHAKING i thanked him and agreed to contact him to sort payment.

Ok tickets booked, excitement at an all time high, we set off for London to see the show...all spruced up in our garms we arrive in Tottenham at the caribbean edge bang on 8pm to be greeted by the manager of the venue and invited to take a seat and relax out of the cold evening chill...Time passed and various people arrived, we met Christopher Hills and sorted our tickets...Excitement by now was surreal..we moved into the function room to be met by beautifully set tables you'd normally see at a big special wedding, candles and a dj playing reggae music...Relaxing and chatting over a few drinks i noticed Audrey Scott had arrived..My nerves were shot to bits, i was shaking, totally starstruck...After a good gulp of beer i went to say hello being the friendly northern bloke i am...I approached Audrey & said "Good Evening Audrey" trembling inside..Her eyes lit up and we hugged like long lost friends A TRULY MAGICAL MOMENT i could have only dreamed of a lifetime before...Another BIG surprise was meeting the lovely Wendy Walker another Queen of the Reggae scene...I was blown away, my mind was gone...such a great honour to meet both ladies...Then i was introduced to my facebook friend via scotties music hall, Lady Roots...Wow!!! we hugged again like long lost friends...A moment i'll never ever forget..

On with the show & what a truly magnificent show from the amazing Kofi backed by Klearview Harmonix and a little later the truly awesome Alan Weekes playing jazz guitar...Check out the videos of parts of the show below..

I think you'll agree when i say truly BRILLIANT & the comedy thrown in for good measure from Felicity Ethnic was hilarious and had everyones sides splitting with laughter...Then there was yet more MAGIC and DREAMS COME TRUE as Audrey Scott was invited up to sing by Kofi...i was gobsmacked...blown away as i'd said to her i'd come to London one day to see her perform a few months earlier via facebook...To my utter amazement Audrey called out my name & dedicated her song "Goodbye My Love" to me...yes me..well that was me in 7th heaven..A DREAM COME TRUE & MORE...

After that awesome surprise and chatting with Audrey the show went on & on until the finale & boy what a finale as Kofi sang Black Pride with some wicked lines from the truly awesome Lorna G as you'll see below....We all went crazy and the atmosphere was electric.

Yet more was to come in the way of surprises as i met Kofi and yet more hugs & a chat i was left breathless, speechless and an emotional wreck in the best possible way.

So there you have it in a nutshell., DREAMS REALLY DO COME TRUE it may only happen once in a lifetime but if you wish hard enough you just never know...MASSIVE THANKS to Sister Kofi, Sister Audrey Scott, Christopher Hills, Lady Roots Winfield, Wendy Walker, All the truly amazing staff at The Caribbean Edge...The Warmth The Love & True Friendship shown to us from all on that night will stay in our minds forever...Kofi said yesterday "JAH" was in the room & i believe "JAH" was there with us bringing all the wonderful people together in unity to support and pay tribute to Kofi & Reggae Music.

                                                        ETERNALLY GRATEFUL

                                                          Richard & Jayne Davison

                                                                      XXX