Various - Club Reggae '69 Various

In 1969, the bold new sound of reggae hit Britain like a shockwave, challenging the music establishment and rewriting the rules of popular taste.
Dismissed by mainstream critics as repetitive and unsophisticated, this electrifying music from Jamaica struck an immediate chord with young working class record buyers, for whom the increasingly psychedelic excesses of prog rock held little appeal.

By the end of the year, a wave of reggae singles had stormed the national charts despite virtually no support from the UK’s only nationwide radio, the BBC, and the fact that sales from specialist record shops across the country were routinely overlooked by chart compilers.

This essential 3CD collection brings together over 80 tracks from the late 1960s, spanning major breakthrough hits, dancefloor favourites and long-lost obscurities, many unavailable since their original release nearly 60 years ago.

Compiled by people who lived it first hand, these are the records that offered Britain’s working-class youth a vivid alternative to the increasingly self-indulgent rock favoured by the middle classes and the mainstream media; raw, immediate and impossible to ignore.

Tracklisting

Disc One
CHART HITS & CLUB CLASSICS

1. Desmond Dekker & The Aces - Israelites
2. Max Romeo - Wet Dream
3. The Pioneers - Long Shot Kick de Bucket
4. Pat Kelly - How Long
5. The Maytals - Monkey Man
6. Tony Scott - What Am I To Do
7. Jackie Bernard & The Tennors - Another Scorcher
8. Dennis Walks - The Drifter
9. John Holt - Ali Baba
10. Lloyd Robinson - Cuss Cuss
11. Laurel Aitken - Jesse James
12. Slim Smith - Everybody Needs Love
13. The Ethiopians - Everything Crash
14. Derrick Morgan - Seven Letters
15. The Bleechers - Ease Up
16. The Gaylads - There's A Fire
17. Stranger Cole & Lester Sterling - Pretty Cottage
18. George Williams - No Business Of Yours
19. Vincent Foster - Shine Eye Gal
20. Dice The Boss - Brixton Cat, Big And Fat
21. Symarip - Skinhead Moonstomp
22. King Horror aka Young Growler - Loch Ness Monster
23. Tony Tribe - Red Red Wine
24. The Melodians - Sweet Sensation
25. Marcia Griffiths - Don't Let Me Down
26. Jimmy Cliff - Wonderful World, Beautiful People
27. Johnny Nash - Cupid

Disc Two
HIDDEN TREASURES

1. Laurel Aitken - Skinhead Train
2. Sugar Simone - Come and Try
3. Audrey - Pledging My Love
4. The Megatons - I'm Thirsty
5. Girlie - Madam Streggae
6. The Arabis - Jump High Jump Low
7. Anonymously Yours - Dream Baby
8. The Bleechers - Yo Yo
9. David Isaacs & The Race Fans - Time Marches On
10. The Melodians - Ring Of Gold
11. Tony Scott - The Moon Is Playing Tricks On Me
12. Tony King & The Hippy Boys - Feel So Glad
13. Ken Boothe - Mr Tambourine Man
14. The Dials - Love Is a Treasure
15. Samuel Edwards - Want It, Want It
16. John Holy - Have Sympathy
17. Johnny Youth & The Nyah Shuffle - Darling It Won’t
18. Pama Dice - Dice Is Back
19. Les Foster - Because You're Mine
20. King Horror aka Young Growler - Frankenstein
21. Lloyd Robinson - Lavender Blue
22. The Harmonians - Come Running Back
23. Anderson's All Stars - Jump and Shout
24. Danny & Joe - Please Be Mine
25. The Beltones - I'll Follow You
26. The Eagles - Rudam Bam
27. Winston Groovy - Leaving Me Standing
28. Sprong & The Nyah Shuffle - Think

Disc Three
INSTRUMENTAL GOLD

1. The Harry J Allstars - Liquidator
2. Lester Sterling & Stranger Cole - Bangarang
3. The Upsetters - Return Of Django
4. The Dynamites - John Public
5. Richard Ace - Hang 'Em High
6. Karl 'King Cannon' Bryan - Overproof
7. Ansel Collins & The Beverley's All Stars - Night Of Love
8. The Family Circle - Stagger Back
9. The Rudies - Wheels
10. Rico & Laurel Aitken Band - A Message To You
11. Sweet Confusion - Elizabethan Serenade
12. The Upsetters - Soulful I
13. Karl 'King Cannon' Bryan & The Harry J All Stars - Wha'pen
14. Anonymously Yours - Organism
15. George Lee - Music Box
16. Joe's All Stars - Hey Jude
17. The Rudies - Downtown Jump
18. Winston Wright & The G.G. All Stars - Flight 404
19. Drumbago & The Dynamites - Dulcemania
20. Don Drumond Junior - Tribute To Don Drummond
21. Lloyd Charmers - 5 To 5
22. Karl 'King Cannon' Bryan & The Jay Boys - Soul Special
23. Hugh Hendricks & The Buccaneers - To Each His Own
24. The Family Circle - By The Time I Get To Phoenix
25. Rico & The Rudies - The Bullet
26. The Beverley's All Stars - Double Shot
27. Roland Alphonso - A Thousand Tons Of Megaton
28. The Upsetters - Clint Eastwood