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"There was one by the reggae band Culture that out of all of the sessions that were released on record is the one that I listen to the most, I think."
(John Peel, MTB Interview, 2002).

Culture

Culture were a Jamaican roots reggae group founded in 1976. Originally they were known as the African Disciples. The members of the trio were Joseph Hill (lead vocals), Albert Walker (backing vocals) and Kenneth Dayes (backing vocals). Shortly after Culture came together, they began working with the "Mighty Two" – producer Joe Gibbs and engineer Errol Thompson. While at Gibbs’ studio, they recorded a series of powerful singles, many of which ended up on their debut album ‘Two Sevens Clash’ … (read more at Wikipedia)

Links To Peel[]

Peel rated Culture's first session in 1982 among the very best recorded for his show, describing it as “one of the great sessions recorded for this programme over the years” (see 30 August 2001). A particular favourite was the session version of ‘Lion Rock’, which he played regularly at his own live events (see 21 June 2001). The track, a Peelenium 1982 selection, appeared on both Peel's own FabricLive.07 compilation and the posthumous release John Peel – A Tribute. Listeners voted the song into the all-time 2000 Festive Fifty.

It was perhaps surprising that Culture recorded only three sessions, with a gap of over 13 years between their second and third (putting them on the list of Longest Gaps Between Peel Session Appearances). The DJ explained the situation on 30 August 2001:

”I have to say that Culture would have done dozens of sessions for this programme if it had been possible to get them sorted out in time, but we never really know that they're coming here until it's too late and also the process of booking them seems to involve so many people it becomes again, too late, and it passes by and the opportunity is gone. So they've done shockingly few sessions, but I do love the band.”

The DJ, however, did include ‘See Them A Come’ from Culture's ‘Two Sevens Clash’ LP in his self-selected 1977 Festive Fifty and also picked three tracks by the band for the Peelenium (‘See Them A Come’ was among his 1978 choices, rather than those for 1977). He also invited them to appear at the Meltdown event he curated in London in 1998.

Festive Fifty Entries[]

Peelenium[]

Sessions[]

Three sessions. The first was released as The Peel Sessions (12" EP, Strange Fruit, 1987). 'Lion Rock' from the same first session was also released on FabricLive.07 (CD, Fabric, 2002) and John Peel - A Tribute (CD, Warner, 2005). 'Two Sevens Clash' from the same session appeared on Mixed Peel (Cassette, NME, 1988).

Culture_-_John_Peel_Session_-_1982

Culture - John Peel Session - 1982

1. Recorded: 1982-12-11. First broadcast: 11 January 1983. Repeated: 28 December 1983, 29 May 1985, 30 August 2001.

  • Too Long In Slavery / Two Sevens Clash / Lion Rock / Armageddon

2. Recorded 1988-11-22. First broadcast: 02 January 1989. Repeated: 07 February 1989.

  • Two Sevens Clash / Fussin And Fightin / Capture Rasta

3. Recorded: 2002-05-05. First broadcast 09 July 2002.

  • Fussing And Fighting / Down In Jamaica / Iron Sharpening Iron / Old Mount Zion / Lion Rock

Live[]

  1. I Tried
  2. Tribal War
  3. Wings Of A Dove
  4. No Night
  5. Zion Gate
  6. Ethiopians Waan
  7. Land We Belong
  8. See Dem A Come
  9. Jah Rastafari
  10. Two Sevens
  11. Chant Down Babylon
  12. One Stone

Other Shows Played[]

(The list below was compiled only from the database of this site and Lorcan's Tracklistings Archive and is incomplete. Please add further information if known.)

1977
1978
1979
1980s
1990
1991
1992
1993
1994
1995
  • 28 October 1995: Apply Within (compilation CD: A History Of Dub - The Golden Age) Munich
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2001
  • 15 August 2001: Stop The Fussing And Fighting (LP - The Frontline) Virgin
2002
2004
Others

See Also[]

External Links[]

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