No Sleepy 'Til Biddinghuizen

Horace Andy with Dub Asante Band and Matic Horns in concert at the Lowlands Festival in Biddinghuizen, The Netherlands on Sunday 17th August 2025, in the 'lunchtime slot', 12:30-13:30.

The festival's own promo blurb (admittedly auto translated to English) takes what I will diplomatically describe as an unusual approach from the start...

Reggae legends abound, 

but many are dead and buried. 

Fortunately, Horace Andy isn't, 

even though the singer with the 

instantly recognisable high-pitched voice 

has long since surpassed the seven crosses 

and his dreadlocks have turned white-gray. 

The Jamaican's iconhood is undeniable, 

if only for his all-time classic "Skylarking" 

and a career spanning six decades. 

Many Lowlanders will know him 

as the regular guest vocalist for Massive Attack, 

but nothing is more powerful than 

Horace Andy's own shows.

Unsurprisingly, Horace's hour-long set speaks for itself.

1) untitled (Dub Asante Band intro)

2) It Must Be Hell
3) Spying Glass
4) Man Next Door
5) Fever
6) Problems
7) Money
8) Elementary
9) Safe From Harm
10) Skylarking 
11) Cuss Cuss
12) Leave Rasta 

No More Crying, Heartaches, Sorrows Or Pain

A "quick" post about Johnny Clarke that inevitably turned into a big detour...

Having been listening to it over the weekend, my intention was simply to post Johnny's 1977 classic Every Knee Shall Bow and a couple of accompanying versions. So, without further ado, here's the original single version, produced by Bunny 'Striker' Lee...

...followed by the self-produced extended version from 1978, featuring U-Roy and a superlative dub from King Tubby on the flipside...

...and last, but certainly not least, U-Roy's own take on the song, one of his last recordings before his untimely passing in 2021. This is huge in every sense, over 15 minutes in length and featuring Big Youth and Mick Jones, with Youth, Zak Starkey and Dave Sardy at the controls. 

And the detour? Right at the top of this post, looking on YouTube for Johnny Clarke clips, I discovered rediscovered a full set from the Mekudeshet Festival in Jerusalem on 19th September 2019, Johnny performing with Dub Asante Band and Matic Horns. Well worth an hour and a quarter of your time.