UK Lovers Rock
Located in 2 routes
The specifically British birthplace and heartland of lovers rock: home-grown Black British romantic reggae made in London studios for the blues dances and house parties of a second-generation Caribbean community. Soft one-drop rhythms, sweet-soul harmonies and intimate, often teenage female vocals define it, produced with a lush, radio-friendly polish distinct from Jamaican roots. The lyrics are tender and domestic, the atmosphere the slow, close dancing of a Friday-night party. It is the sound of Black British romance in the late 1970s and 80s.
History
UK lovers rock emerged in mid-1970s London through producer Dennis Bovell and the pioneering Lovers Rock label, which gave the genre its name and its first hits; teenage groups and singers, Louisa Mark, Brown Sugar (whose "I'm in Love with a Dreadlocks" launched the label in 1977), Janet Kay and Carroll Thompson, spoke directly to Black British youth. Trevor Walters, Sandra Cross, Kofi and Maxi Priest extended the run into the 1980s, and roots-crossover acts like Aswad scored lovers-tinged pop hits. Distinct from its Jamaican cousins, UK lovers rock became a cornerstone of Black British identity, later celebrated in documentary, drama and the reissue market.
Defining artists
Essential listening
- Silly Games(1979) — Janet KaySpotifyYouTube
- Caught You in a Lie(1975) — Louisa MarkSpotifyYouTube
- Hopelessly in Love(1981) — Carroll ThompsonSpotifyYouTube
- I'm in Love with a Dreadlocks(1977) — Brown SugarSpotifyYouTube
- Love Me Tonight(1981) — Trevor WaltersSpotifyYouTube
- Don't Turn Around(1988) — AswadSpotifyYouTube
Sources
- Lloyd Bradley, Sounds Like London: 100 Years of Black Music in the Capital (2013)
- Menelik Shabazz (dir.), The Story of Lovers Rock (2011)
- Kevin Le Gendre, Don't Stop the Carnival: Black Music in Britain (2018)