We a no warrior..

...But we a conqueror 

Jah loves u man

I have been to see The Abyssinians. The mighty, mighty, Abyssinians. Looking as if they had stepped straight from 1960s Kingston, Jamaica - except for all being about a hundred years old - the kings of roots reggae were, basically, mighty.

I hadn't seen a reggae band live since the two sevens clashed (cries of "Shame, shame") and one interesting point was that the between song banter had not evolved one bit. It still consists of random and seemingly meaningless combinations of the words and phrases 'Jah', 'Rastafari', 'I and I', 'Natty Dread' and 'Trenchtown'. But communication problems aside it was a great concert; mighty even. And what a mixed audience, containing every possible combination of race and age, although possibly not that many UKIP voters. One other noticeable  absence was the fragrant smell that used to be associated with such events. The smoking ban isn't all good news.

The last reggae act that I saw live was the Cimarons  who supported Tom Robinson at a Rock against Racism gig in the University of Bradford Staff-Student Communal Building, although the students union - being hideously white and middle class - had never heard of them and promoted them as the Limarons. The evening was full of drama including the arrival of what was assumed to be the NF turning out to actually be the SWP. However the bit that sticks in my mind was when BUSWAG (the Bradford University Socialist Women's Action Group just in case you weren't already on top of that one) caused uproar when poor old Tom played 'A woman needs a man like a fish needs a bicycle' and demanded the right of reply on behalf of womankind. Tom, being Tom, graciously agreed and called for a spokesperson to step forward to the microphone. The dungareed ones put their hands together and nominated Roland Rance, who everyone in the room couldn't help noticing was a man himself.

He used to have a beard

Roland is famous/notorious in some quarters these days although I suspect not to anyone reading this. One of his online biographies states that as a young man he attended the University of Bradford. I would like to put the record straight. He certainly attended the university, but he was never, at any point, a young man.