Publisher Description

The history of the original Wailers - Tosh, Livingstone and Marley - as never before told.Discover the untold history of reggae legends of Bob Marley and the original Wailers.The perfect must-read if you loved the film One Love.Over one dramatic decade, a trio of Trench Town R&B crooners, Peter Tosh, Bunny Wailer and Bob Marley, swapped their 1960s Brylcreem hairdos and two-tone suits for 1970s battle fatigues and dreadlocks to become the Wailers - one of the most influential groups in popular music. Now one of our best and brightest non-fiction writers examines the story of the influential reggae band.Charting their complex relationship, their fluctuating fortunes, musical peak, and the politics and ideologies that provoked their split, Colin Grant shows us why they were not just extraordinary musicians, but also natural mystics. And, following a trail from Jamaica through Europe, America, Africa and back to the vibrant and volatile world of Trench Town, he travels in search of the last surviving Wailer.'In Grant's hands life in Trench Town in the 1960's is energetic and theatrical, rich in comedy and tragic irony...This brilliant book is not just about Jamaica, but about ourselves' Guardian

Notes

A history of the original Wailers, Pete Tosh, Bob Marley and Bunny Wailer. Over one dramatic decade, this trio of Trench Town crooners swapped their 1960s Brylcreem hairdos for dreadlocks to become one of the most influential groups in popular music.

Back Cover

Over one dramatic decade, a trio of Trenchtown R&B crooners, Peter Tosh, Bunny Wailer and Bob Marley, swapped their 1960s Brylcreem hairdos and two-tone suits for 1970s battle fatigues and dreadlocks to become the Wailers - one of the most influential groups in popular music. Now, one of our best and brightest non-fiction writers examines their shared story for the first time. Charting their complex relationship, their fluctuating fortunes, musical peak, and the politics and ideologies that provoked their split, Colin Grant shows us why they were not just extraordinary musicians, but also natural mystics. And, following a trail from Jamaica through Europe, America, Africa and back to the vibrant and volatile world of Trench Town, we travel in search of the last surviving Wailer. 'The three central characters, the force that they became together and the forces that drove them apart... are more vividly portrayed than in any previous biography' Daily Telegraph 'The myth-making that surrounds the memory of Bob Marley has largely obscured the contribution of his fellow Wailers, "Bunny" Livingston and Peter Tosh. I& I restores these two to their rightful position' New Statesman 'A highly evocative and original account of a misunderstood group, and the misunderstood man at its core' Literary Review 'Provides a lively introduction to the life and times of the Wailers and, incidentally, to the neo-African religions and animist cults of beautiful, bedevilled Jamaica' Sunday Times 'In Grant's hands life in Trench Town in the 1960's is energetic and theatrical, rich in comedy and tragic irony...This brilliant book is not just about Jamaica, but about ourselves' Guardian 'Grant has approached a well worn topic in a lively and different way... rewardingly colourful, often revelatory' Metro

Author Biography

Colin Grant is a historian and author of four highly praised books- Negro with a Hat- The Rise and Fall of Marcus Garvey (2008), I and I- The Natural Mystics Marley, Tosh and Wailer (2011), Bageye at the Wheel (2012), and A Smell of Burning (2016). He is an Associate Fellow in the Centre for Caribbean Studies, and teaches creative non-fiction writing, most recently for Arvon and Sierra Nevada College.

Review

By the end, the three central characters, the force that they became together and the forces that drove them apart... are more vividly portrayed than in any previous biography. What's more, Grant's clear, concise book, as well as revealing the Wailers in the light of their own culture, helps us to see into the heart of Jamaica itself, through the lives of three of its sons * Daily Telegraph *
Grant has pulled off a remarkable feat in the telling of their individual stories... An absorbing read that sheds new light on the famous triumvirate -- Linton Kwesi Johnson * Wasafiri *
The main merit of this perceptive work is that, by not making Marley its focus, it gets closer to the truth about him than most other biographers... Colin Grant has composed a highly evocative and original account of a misunderstood group, and the misunderstood man at its core * Literary Review *
Provides a lively introduction to the life and times of the Wailers and, incidentally, to the neo-African religions and animist cults of beautiful, bedevilled Jamaica * Sunday Times *
In Grant's hands life in Trench Town in the 1960's is energetic and theatrical, rich in comedy and tragic irony... Grant's original and stylish second book... This brilliant book is not just about Jamaica, but about ourselves, no longer the country of The King's Speech but a post-imperial nation many of whose citizens have a buried history. Read it also for Grant's acute descriptions of its characters * Guardian *

Promotional

The history of the original Wailers - Tosh, Livingstone and Marley - as never before told.

Review Text

By the end, the three central characters, the force that they became together and the forces that drove them apart... are more vividly portrayed than in any previous biography. What's more, Grant's clear, concise book, as well as revealing the Wailers in the light of their own culture, helps us to see into the heart of Jamaica itself, through the lives of three of its sons

Review Quote

"The main merit of this perceptive work is that, by not making Marley its focus, it gets closer to the truth about him than most other biographers... Colin Grant has composed a highly evocative and original account of a misunderstood group, and the misunderstood man at its core." - Literary Review

Promotional "Headline"

The history of the original Wailers - Tosh, Livingstone and Marley - as never before told.

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