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The Wailers in Babylon at 50 Years
During the 1970s Leeds Polytechnic Students Union was the venue for many notable bands including rock and punk and much else, Deep Purple, Genesis and Fleetwood Mac gave way to the Sex Pistols, The Clash and The Slits.
The Wailers in Leeds
It is almost fifty years since a legendary gig took place in Leeds when The Wailers played at Leeds Polytechnic Tech Hall under the auspice of Leeds Poly Students Union. Melody Maker described the packed room on 23 November 1973 as having ‘an air of optimism and expectation’ and the gig an instant classic. The hall was a multicultural mix of young Jamaicans and white rock and rollers. The band had just released a second album, Burnin’, with producer Chris Blackwell, who had dubbed their sound with Rock appeal, but the band still retained their essential Rastafarian root sound. The Burnin’ tour had begun in the US, and the English (the band didn’t play Scotland or Wales) leg was blighted by cancellations. Ultimately, they played Blackpool, Leeds, Manchester, and Northampton and a John Peel session for the BBC’s Top Gear strand.
Promotional material for The Wailers gig in 1973
Confusion
The Leeds gig is often cited as taking place at Leeds University, and commentators often do not realise there are two separate academic institutions in Leeds. Perhaps the renown of The Who’s Live at Leeds album, recorded at Leeds University, has something to do with that misunderstanding. The Wailers gig was recorded and later found its way onto the Burnin’ Deluxe Edition CD.
Inspired by Jah
They played from the gut, inspired by Jah, the godhead they believed resided in everyone. Even then, within the band, the purity of their Rastafarian beliefs had spilt the band with Bunny Livingstone refusing to play in Babylon. The tour suffered so many cancellations partly because core bandsmen, notably Livingstone and Peter Tosh, saw many of the gigs and venues as going against their Rastafarian faith; by 1974, they had both left the band. The band coalesced around Bob Marley, becoming a worldwide phenomenon – Bob Marley and the Wailers.
