Peter Tosh in Cardiff

During the compilation of this blog I have often been struck by how under written reggae is in Wales. Prince Buster played Cardiff Top Rank in 1967 with barely a ripple of interest from the local press; Jimmy Cliff's gig at the same venue in 1974 went unheralded; even Bob Marley's show at Deeside Leisure Centre in 1980 passed by with little enthusiasm from the Welsh media. So I was delighted to stumble across some old photos on the internet from back in the late '70s taken by Tim Duncan, which show the likes of Peter Tosh, Sly Dunbar, Robbie Shakespeare, Mikey Chung, Keith Sterling, Dennis Bovell and Linton Kwesi Johnson performing in Cardiff. The above picture was snapped during Peter Tosh's Bush Doctor Tour at Sophia Gardens, Cardiff, in 1978. Peter Tosh is on the left and Robbie Shakespeare is on the right. Reggae fans will be aware that Tosh's Bush Doctor album was banned from many shops upon its release because of a scratch'n'sniff sticker that carried the pungent aroma of marijuana.

Photograph is ©Tim Duncan.