By
Joel Savage
I never had the opportunity to see Peter Tosh and Bob Marley performing live in concert, so when their sons Andrew and Julian came to Antwerp, I tried my best to see them.
Talking to Andrew Tosh and Julian Marley over what their fathers achieved in the field of reggae was very interesting. Both Andrew and Julian bore striking features of their fathers. Below are part of the interviews I had with Andrew Tosh and Julian Marley.
Andrew Tosh
Andrew, your father, everyone knows was one of the greatest reggae stars the world ever produced. What actually inspired you into music?
Definitely, my father was my biggest influence in music. He thought me how to play the piano when I was very young. He was like a teacher who guided me through my childhood to gain broader knowledge in music.
I listened to your ‘Message from Jah’ album; the track ‘Come Together’ is very touching. What inspired you to write that song?
I love people, so I interact with them. Singing is one of the ways to meet them.
What is your long range objective in music?
Currently I am working on my new album called ‘Focus’ and also working on one called ‘Andrew sings Tosh:He never died’.
Andrew with Joel Savage
How has your father’s experience influenced you as a reggae star?
My father’s experience is both good and bad. He had a very bad experience with the Babylon system, but as I said before, the good part of it is inspiring me into music.
Many musicians sing about Africa and the love to visit or return to the continent, but they never keep their promise. Why is it so?
I have been to a lot of places over there, including South Africa and Angola. I think some of these artists don’t recognise the true culture of the continent. Even though some may wish to there, they don’t know how to organise that.
Julian Marley
You are one of the sons of the great Bob Marley. How possible all your brothers are in music at the same time?
Well, we were young but as we grow we discovered what our father was doing or did. It’s in the blood or probably could be hereditary. We were all inspired by our father’s great musical talent as an international reggae star. That’s the reason we are all in music.
How do you get on with other brothers from your father?
We see ourselves as Marley brothers and nothing more. We are happy together and our aim is to continue spreading the message or do what our father left undone. Thus; we are one big happy musical family.
Julian with Joel Savage
Did your father had any idea that one day he is going to change the reggae world?
My father was a man who never gives up so easily in whatever he was doing. His heart couldn’t take defeat he therefore haven’t any sense of failure in him. If someone has that heart, it means he wanted to achieve something positive as a musician. In this case he had an idea to achieve something different.
Read other interviews with Femi Kuti, Seun Kuti, Manu Dibango, Lucky Dube, Tutu Poane, The Congos, Anthony B, Junior Murvin, The Great Joseph Hill of the group called ‘Culture,’ Luciano, Gregory Isaacs and other great artists in Joel Savage’s ‘The Passion of Reggae & African Music’, available here.
I had the privilege of being at a Bob Marley concert in Toronto, Canada, during the 1970s. Never have I taken part in such a big beautiful experience. Every single one of us rocked, swayed, sang, clapped, tapped our feet, shook our heads, danced as One. Love surrounded us inside a green bubble. A decade earlier I met the man who said he brought reggae and Marley to the West: Trevor Rhone. Grand-daddy of Jamaican playwrights, he co-wrote the internationally successful movie, with director Perry Henzell, 'The Harder They Come.' We trained at Rose Bruford College in theatre studies. He was a beautiful man and I mourned his death in 2009. In 2011 I met Chris Blackwell at the 3rd International Travelers' Philanthropy Conference in Monteverde, Costa Rica, where I gave a paper on curbing child Sex tourism. Of course, he knew Bob Marley. As founder of Island Records, which had introduced the world to the musician and to reggae music. So now, reading Tuck Magazine for the first time, my little world comes full circle reading Joel Savage's article. Thanks Joel for reminding me of some happy times.