Bob Marley and the Wailers Leeds University Refectory June 1976
This was the red hot summer of 1976 and Bob Marley was big news. “No Woman, No Cry” had hit the charts, and his legendary 1975 show at the Lyceum was a massive success which received rave reviews in the rock press. Leeds University was the nearest gig to the North East of England on Bob Marley’s 1976 tour, but it had been sold out for weeks in advance, and I didn’t have a ticket. Marie and I decided to drive down to Leeds on the off chance of buying a couple of tickets outside. We arrived early and joined crowds of people sitting on the grass and in the union bar, waiting for the doors to open. I wandered around asking if anyone had any spare tickets and eventually managed to buy a couple of from a guy in a nearby pub (I think it may have been the Packhorse?). I paid a little more than face value. The Union refectory was completely packed to the walls for the gig, and it was so hot and sweaty in that hall that night. I wasn’t that familiar with Bob Marley’s material at the time, but I do remember recognising “I Shot the Sheriff”, “No Woman, No Cry” and “Get Up, Stand Up”. At this time the Wailers featured Family Man, Junior Marvin, and the I-Threes with Rita Marley. I remember finding it a very different sort of concert to the rock gigs that I was used to at the time. In particular, the music was much quieter, and the reggae beats and rhythms were so relentless, and had everyone dancing. The dreadlocks, the rastafarian dress, the I-Threes in their robes; this was all so new to me. A world away from heavy rock, and punk was yet to really emerge. A strong smell of dope hung in the air. Bob Marley seemed so natural and unassuming on stage, yet there was a quiet charisma about him. You just knew that he meant every word he sang. A great gig. Possibly one of the best I have been to, and another that I wish I could live again. Setlist: Trenchtown Rock; Them Belly Full (But We Hungry); Rebel Music (3 O’Clock Roadblock); I Shot the Sheriff; Crazy Baldhead; Want More; No Woman, No Cry; Lively Up Yourself; Roots, Rock, Reggae; Positive Vibration; Rat Race; War; No More Trouble; Get Up, Stand Up.
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