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When Bob Marley caused Riot inna Africa
Posted: Sunday, September 30, 2001
Submitted By: Ras T. Henry
Ree Ngwenya
Harare
It was April 1980, the end of a hard week, around 4pm, on a Friday afternoon. Mick Carter was in his office, thinking about maybe leaving early for the weekend. Then the phone rang.
Bob Marley was calling from the Tuff Gong International offices in Kingston. Could Mick organise a crew and all the necessary equipment and fly to Salisbury in Rhodesia over the weekend? On Tuesday, 18 April, the country was changing its name to Zimbabwe, and the city would be renamed Harare.
Bob had two officials from Zimbabwe's government in his office with him, and they had asked him to perform at the independence ceremonies. Cost was to be no barrier: Bob, whose tune Zimbabwe had proved inspirational to the ZANLA freedom fighters, was paying for it all out of his pocket. He would be playing amidst the ruins of Great Zimbabwe.
At the Islands Record offices in West London, Denise Mills received a similar call: "Bob said he was flying into London over the weekend and wanted to continue straight on to Africa. Could we arrange it?"
Within two hours, Carter had booked his crew and PA equipment. More importantly, he had also chartered a 707 waiting on the tarmac at Gatwick airport.
The next day the plane took off at Gatwick, carrying the agent, the lighting, the soundmen and the sound equipment.
The advance party for this Bob Marley expedition to Africa caused much bewilderment when it arrived at Salisbury airport, as it was then still known.
"The import people hadn't a clue what to do, how to deal with us," Carter said.
"What got us and everyone through was a huge bag of Bob Marley T- shirts that I had sensibly persuaded Island to give me before I left. These were liberally dispensed all around. And it also helped enormously that I was wearing an Exodus tour jacket, which was my passport to everything."
read dis ress yahso: http://rastafaritimes.com/rasnews/vi...5,55606,.shtml
Posted: Sunday, September 30, 2001
Submitted By: Ras T. Henry
Ree Ngwenya
Harare
It was April 1980, the end of a hard week, around 4pm, on a Friday afternoon. Mick Carter was in his office, thinking about maybe leaving early for the weekend. Then the phone rang.
Bob Marley was calling from the Tuff Gong International offices in Kingston. Could Mick organise a crew and all the necessary equipment and fly to Salisbury in Rhodesia over the weekend? On Tuesday, 18 April, the country was changing its name to Zimbabwe, and the city would be renamed Harare.
Bob had two officials from Zimbabwe's government in his office with him, and they had asked him to perform at the independence ceremonies. Cost was to be no barrier: Bob, whose tune Zimbabwe had proved inspirational to the ZANLA freedom fighters, was paying for it all out of his pocket. He would be playing amidst the ruins of Great Zimbabwe.
At the Islands Record offices in West London, Denise Mills received a similar call: "Bob said he was flying into London over the weekend and wanted to continue straight on to Africa. Could we arrange it?"
Within two hours, Carter had booked his crew and PA equipment. More importantly, he had also chartered a 707 waiting on the tarmac at Gatwick airport.
The next day the plane took off at Gatwick, carrying the agent, the lighting, the soundmen and the sound equipment.
The advance party for this Bob Marley expedition to Africa caused much bewilderment when it arrived at Salisbury airport, as it was then still known.
"The import people hadn't a clue what to do, how to deal with us," Carter said.
"What got us and everyone through was a huge bag of Bob Marley T- shirts that I had sensibly persuaded Island to give me before I left. These were liberally dispensed all around. And it also helped enormously that I was wearing an Exodus tour jacket, which was my passport to everything."
read dis ress yahso: http://rastafaritimes.com/rasnews/vi...5,55606,.shtml