Carlos Fresneda
Updated Wednesday, February 14, 2024-00:31
"This is where Bob Marley lived in 1977" at 42 Oakley Street, next to the Chelsea Bridge over the Thames, which he himself used to cross late in the morning to play football with the Wailers in Battersea Park. And from there to the Island Records studios, to record that musical gem that he titled
Exodus (chosen by
Time
magazine
as the best album of the 20th century),
as a true reflection of his status as a "political refugee."
In December 1976, he survived a shooting at his own home in Kingston, in which his wife Rita and manager Don Taylor were also wounded.
Two days later, in an atmosphere of political civil war, he was able to show his face at the Smile Jamaica concert
in Kingston, knowing that his days in his homeland were numbered... Until his triumphant return two years later with the One Love Peace Concert.
Bob Marley: One Love
now gives the title to the most anticipated
biopic
of the year (with the permission of Back to Black in honor of Amy Winehouse). After the impact of the documentary
Marley
, the ground was more than fertile to humanize the king of reggae, with the approval of his son Ziggy (producer), under the direction of Reinaldo Marcus Green (The Williams Method) and with the voice changed to patois by Kingsley Ben-Adir (Peaky Blinders).
"Thank God they gave me a singing teacher," remembers Londoner Ben-Adir, of "mixed" race like Marley and with Caribbean blood from Trinidad and Tobago.
"I had never sung in my life, although along the way I discovered that my vocal range fits well with his music."
Ben-Adir became familiar with his character during the filming of Barbie, where he had a minor role. As soon as he could he escaped to Kingston, where he was asked with an intimidating air: "How dare you do this?" He tried to reassure them by saying: "I would feel the same way as you...
But you see, I grew up among Jamaicans and believe me, I don't take this lightly. I'm going to try to get the fucking best out of me."
"Pure dynamite"
The criticism has been quite benign, Vivien Goldman (the journalist who got along most with Marley during his stay in London) assures that Ben-Adir's interpretation is
"pure dynamite. Bob Marley always considered London his second home
," recalls the author of
The Book of Exodus
. But for some reason the British music press didn't seem interested in him. I was the one who got him the first covers. Goldman was with Marley and Rita at their "communal" home on Hope Road in Kingston, days before the shooting. And she was one of the first to receive him in the "sanctuary" of London, to shelter him while he practiced
couch surfing
with his band (up to five houses they occupied in two years in the city)
and to act as a cultural bridge with the wave of punk that hit the British Isles (she also had the band, The Flying Lizzards).
Vivien Goldman was also a witness to the production of
Exodus
, and specifically the gestation of
Guiltiness
, as she recently recounted in
The Guardian
... "Marley was sitting on an iron bed, strumming his guitar,
with children around, perplexed." for that letter addressed to the dark forces that almost caused his death
."
Natural Mystic
,
Jamming
,
Three Little Birds
,
One Love/People Get Ready...
Bob Marley's arrival in his "second homeland" (the family of his father, Captain Norval Marley, had roots in Essex) acted as a shock, and after the explosion of
Exodus
came the relaxation of Kaya, with memorable songs like
Is this love?
,
Satisfy my soul
or
Misty morning
.
The film focuses mainly on the seventies and thoroughly explores Marley's London period
, although Vivien Goldman misses a greater role for Cindy Breakspeare, Miss Jamaica and Miss World, the same one who inspired
Waiting in Vain
and
Turn the lights down low
. Although Bob Marley's love affair with London had been forged during the Lyceum Theater concert that became the album Live!, with the live version of
No Woman, No Cry
making history. In 1980, a year after his death, Bob Marley said goodbye to his "second homeland" with a concert at Crystal Palace. There he premiered his most immortal song,
Redemption Song
:
All I've ever had are/ Songs of redemption/ Songs of freedom...