“I went downtown this morning… This IS Black Slate Rock, So Rock On”
Black Slate were formed in 1974 in London, with members hailing from mostly London, Jamaica and Anguilla. Under different guises such as B. Slate and Disco Reggae Band Black Slate, they found work initially by opening concerts for touring Jamaican acts, such as Delroy Wilson and Ken “Is It Because I’m Black” Boothe.
In 1976, they hit the U.K. reggae charts with the anti-mugging anthem “Sticks Man“, toured the U.K. in their own right in 1978 and landed a hit in 1980 with "Boom Boom”.
Having formed their own TCD label and having a minor hit with "Mind Your Motion", they also backed Dennis Brown when he played live in the U.K. Also in 1980, their rastafarian rallying call, "Amigo", was picked up by Ensign Records, and broke into the U.K. singles chart, reaching number 9. This success was mirrored in Europe where they received welcomed airplay and some chart appearances notably in the Netherlands.
An album, Sirens In The City, followed on Ensign the following year. The band released two further albums in 1982 and 1985, but little was heard of them after that. All together they released four albums between 1979 and 1985 and they, much like Steel Pulse had done, successfully represented the British reggae sound of the 1970s and the early 1980s. They were Black Slate.
Words: Ade Bankole
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