Punky Reggae Party

The coming together of reggae and punk in 1977 is well-documented. No point me repeating it. Therefore, I present to you a short post containing a reggae song referencing punk bands and a punk band playing reggae.

A stand-alone single in Jamaica as a longform 9-minute version, Bob Marley's Punky Reggae Party became available internationally in cropped form on the b-side of Jamming. In it, Bob sings of one awesome-sounding get-together: "The Wailers will be there, the Damned, the Jam, the Clash / Maytals will be there, Dr. Feelgood too." Apparently, Bob wasn't terribly enamoured of punks, but he appreciated that they aligned themselves with black immigrants as outsiders of the society of the time and this was his way of paying tribute to that spirit of togetherness.



The Ruts timeless debut album 'The Crack' was on my original longlist of 'albums to take to my grave'. Jah War is my fave track. Not only that, but it's the best punk/reggae crossover track of all time and the most convincing white-boy reggae track of the era.




Soundtrack:

• Punky Reggae Party - Bob Marley & The Wailers (b-side of Jamming)
• Jah War - The Ruts (from 'The Crack')