The Ritz
Photos I took from the floor at the Ritz, Steel Pulse, August 1982
In early Summer of 1982 I made one of my excursions to Greenwich Village to look for records and stumbled upon a brand new album by Steel Pulse called “True Democracy.” I bought it and played it a few times, at which point I felt like I needed to listen to it more, and then more, and well, you know the rest. I was already a fan, I had all three of the previous albums. Among reggae fans these were already considered classics. We would find some EPs, dub versions and rarities by Steel Pulse now and then in the Village.
Steel Pulse’s first album had only come out around the time I started college an I got to know about Steel Pulse originally through Jah Lounge’s radio show. One night he played a dub version of the great tune “Reggae Fever,” the only time I ever heard that version.
By the time the world lost Bob Marley, Steel Pulse was considered among the handful of bands that were likely successors to become the most successful reggae band in the world.
The Ritz was a unique and amazing venue. Before shows they showed videos (movies and clips on film), mostly that we had never seen before, including great reggae artists.
I don't think there was an early show - only one per night. The show time on ticket says 11.30pm. In the Ritz there was no backstage entrance to the stage area and performers had to walk through the crowd before the show in order to get to the stage. Often times, they went unnoticed, but on this first night we turned and saw David Hinds coming through with a big yellow top hat over his Congo Dread. I returned for the show the next night .
On another day in NYC around this time, I picked up a Village Voice and saw inside, unmistakenly, a picture of David Hinds with his “Congo Dread,” in the “On the Street” Column with photos by Amy Arbus