1982-08-11 Steel Pulse

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

[1984-07-03] Steel Pulse / Freddie McGregor

Concerts on the Pier

Carlton Bryan solos, Tyrone Downie helps out on the keyboards.

Steel Pulse at Pier 84, NYC, 1984

David Hinds and Tyrone Downie.

David Hinds, Tyrone Downie and Carlton Bryan.

I had taken these photos but had no stub and had a hard time confirming the exact date of this show.

Steel Pulse’s fifth studio album, Earth Crisis, came out as 1983 passed into 1984, and it was another strong one. As usual, the album tracks were nicely complimented by a few dub and extended versions (of songs like “Roller Skates,” and “Stepping Out”) that became available in the record shops that year.

Steel Pulse remained mostly in its original configuration, with Phonso Martin still in the band, although there was a change in the lead guitar slot. I hadn’t heard anything about it previously, and when they hit the stage I was very surprised to see Carlton Bryan up there. As detailed in previous posts, Carlton’s own band had been almost a house band at The Haunt, “Upstate NY’s reggae capital,” in 1981-2, and I saw him play there many times.

Another great surprise came when David Hinds announced that Tyrone Downie would sit in on keyboards. One fantastic and influential multi-keyboardist, Downie joined up with Bob Marley and the Wailers early on and provided so much to the classic sounds of all of the great Bob Marley studio records. He was the regular keyboard player during the Wailers tours, including the one I saw in 1979.

The wide image at top of Carlton soloing with David looking on and Tyrone holding down the keyboards is one of my favorites. Carlton is playing the double-necked guitar that is shown on the cover of a studio album from around that timeframe.

Steel Pulse in 1984 with Tyrone Downie and Carlton Bryan joining. Phonso Martin at right, Bumbo on keyboards at left.

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Freddie McGregor opening up for Steel Pulse at the Pier.