This blog post came from a discussion between (Prince) Dan I, Chris Peltier, Lincoln Oakley, and Karl Oxford. Rites of Passage would like to thank all four for providing the Authentic Voice of the Sound System Generations.
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Across the decades, there were different motivations that shaped the style of music and MC lyrics of the British sound systems.
The 70s and early 80s was more about roots and culture music with heavy dubwise and skanking. The 80s then became more about: DJ-based/dancehall music, meeting the opposite sex – seeking and building relationships and creating families. Spiritual messages changed in style, though the key messages were the same – faith, love and social injustice (from distinctly unique Jamaican and British perspectives).
The 80s was a particularly boom decade for sound systems in the UK. As Black youths living across different parts of the city in Bradford – we used to ‘trod’ regularly to the main Black venues where the dances and sound system clashes were taking place, such as Green Lane Youth Club, Bradford West Indian Community Centre Association (Checkpoint), McMillan Adventure Playground Association (MAPA); as well as when we went to clubs such as Palm Cove, Bibi’s (Capricorn Club), Mayflower, etc..
This identity with your own ‘posse’ was a really unifying feature of our young formative days. We had numerous posses representing sound systems and groups of young people from different areas of Bradford, e.g. posses such as:
- Scorcher
- Israelites
- Zion Daughters
- Nyah Shanti
- Creation Roots
And areas of Bradford such as:
- Manningham
- Green Lane
- Lumb Lane
- Holmewood
- Canterbury
- Newby Square
People active in the 80s era looked up to sound men like (Prince) Dan I and other elders who had been active in the sound system sector from the earlier 1970s decades. This was particularly the case where these elder icons had an old fashioned heavy big bass output – and throwback to the earlier pioneering days.
Rivalries as well as reverence still remain strongly today and after more than 30 and 40 years! People are very happy and quick to recall their thoughts on which sound was better than the other and who was better than who in terms of the key individuals (i.e. selectors, MCs, operators).
Rites of Passage: Bradford's Sound System Stories 