Steve Barrow (born 29 September 1945) is a British

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica during the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its Jamaican diaspora, diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, "Do the Reggay", was the first ...

historiographer, chronologist,

archivist An archivist is an information professional who assesses, collects, organizes, preserves, maintains control over, and provides access to records and archives determined to have long-term value. The records maintained by an archivist can cons ...

, journalist,

curator A curator (from , meaning 'to take care') is a manager or overseer. When working with cultural organizations, a curator is typically a "collections curator" or an "exhibitions curator", and has multifaceted tasks dependent on the particular ins ...

, writer, promoter, sound system operator, record-label owner and producer.Steve Barrow Interview
– ''Midnight Raver'' website (29 March 2013). Retrieved 21 April 2013.

Biography

While at Honest Jon's record shop, he met Peter Dalton, with whom he later collaborated on writing ''The Rough Guide to Reggae''. Between 1979 and 1980, he was hired freelance by

Island Records Island Records is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded in Jamaica by Chris Blackwell, Graeme Goodall, and Leslie Kong in 1959, and was eventually sold to PolyGram in 1989. Island and A&M Records, another ...

to compile a series of vinyl releases: ''Intensified'', ''More Intensified'', ''Catch The Beat'' and ''The Blue Beat Years''. From the 1970s and up to 1992, Barrow compiled many albums and wrote liner notes for

Trojan Records Trojan Records is a British record label founded by Jamaican Duke Reid, Lee Gopthal and Chris Blackwell in 1968. It specialises in ska, rocksteady, reggae and dub music. The label currently operates under the Sanctuary Records Group. Th ...

in London. In 1993 Barrow co-founded the Blood and Fire record label with Simply Red's Mick Hucknall, specialising in reissuing older

roots reggae Roots reggae is a subgenre of reggae that deals with the everyday lives and aspirations of Ethnic groups of Africa, Africans and those in the African Diaspora, including the spiritual side of Rastafari, black liberation, revolution and the ho ...

and spiritual dubwise Jamaican music. Barrow's extensive knowledge of reggae was the catalyst for the creation of the Jamaican Reggae Archive Project which is funded and owned by

Chris Blackwell Christopher Percy Gordon Blackwell OJ (born 22 June 1937) is a Jamaican-British former record producer and the founder of Island Records, which has been called "one of Britain's great independent labels". According to the Rock and Roll Hall ...

with Barrow as '' de facto'' chronologist, historiographer and curator. Between 1994 and 1995, Barrow (along with Don Letts and Rick Elwood) conducted a series of interviews with Jamaican artists for the archive that aimed to preserve the history of the music. The interviews and other related material were an important factor in the writing of the book ''The Rough Guide to Reggae''.Steve Barrow Interview
– ''Mod Culture'' website (10 March 2012). Retrieved 21 April 2013. The reggae author David Katz credits Barrow's personal recommendation to Trevor Wyatt of Island Records for his involvement in the compiling of the 1997

Lee "Scratch" Perry Lee "Scratch" Perry (born Rainford Hugh Perry; 20 March 1936 – 29 August 2021) was a Jamaican record producer, songwriter and singer noted for his innovative studio techniques and production style. Perry was a pioneer in the 1970s development ...

CD set ''Arkology''. – ''Eternal Thunder'' (February 2001). Interview by Mick Sleeper. Retrieved 18 June 2013. In 2004, Barrow co-founded the reggae reissue label Hot Pot Music.

Bibliography

*''The Rough Guide to Reggae'' with Peter Dalton, 1997 for the first edition, Rough Guides Limited, *''The Rough Guide Reggae: 100 Essential Cds'', 1999, Rough Guides Limited, *''King Jammy's'', with Beth Lesser, 2002, ECW Press, UK,

References

External links

Steve Barrow interview
at Niceup
Audio interview with Steve Barrow
at Big Mikey Dread Reggae Radio {{DEFAULTSORT:Barrow, Steve 1945 births British music critics Living people People from Forest Gate Reggae journalists