Hi, Last week on Tuesday 13th of July, I saw one of the alltime greats. I had the pleasure of viewing Mr James Chambers, better known as Mr Jimmy Cliff. Jimmy Cliff is a pioneer of Jamaican music. He was one of the first to bring the music to a world wide audience. He was one of the first big international reggae stars. He helped to bring Jamaican music to the masses in the days before Bob Marley hit worldwide stardom. He had hits all around the world. From the age of 14, he has released singles such as Hurricane Hattie, Mrs Jamaica & King Of Kings. His worth was noted by Chris Blackwell, which lead to an contract with Island records & a move to the UK. From 1968 history was set. The gig was at the Leadmill in Sheffield. He was backed by an impressive band, complete with a horn section & backing singers. The crowd were mainly of the older generation. There were people there who may have seen him in his 60s/ early 70s heyday. There were a number of faces I knew from way back which was good to see. Also good to see were a number of younger faces dotted about. The crowd was a large one. Not full capacity but very busy. They all were waiting with their dancing shoes on, waiting to be entertained. When the youthful Jimmy hit the stage, the crowd went wide. They had come to be entertained & entertained they were. Jimmy was in fine form. His good natured personality shone out for all to see as went through his set. The people had come to hear his hits & big tunes, he didn't let us down. Quality renditions of his popular tunes, bought much joy from the floor. I did wear out a fair bit of shoe leather from the soles of my footwear. Songs such as Wonderful World, beautiful people, Wild world, You can get it if you really want, Many Rivers to cross, Vietnam, Harder they can & I can see clearly now all come out with the high quality that was expected. He also did a few early early ska tunes including one of my all time favourites of all time, King of Kings. Dancing aplenty to that one by your truly. He ran through a number of lesser known songs which went down very well. He came out for a number of encores & if the crowd had their way, he wouldn't have left the stage. At time it was like the return of a missing messiah. The crowd loved it. Jimmy had us in the palm of his hand. The Jimmy Cliff gig was a one of the best gigs I had been to. Great music, great crowd, great sound, great atmosphere & the people were entertained. That is what it's all about. SCIDB
