Inspired by the sleeve of STEEL PULSE’s 1978 debut album and presented to the people of Handsworth by the LORD MAYOR OF BIRMINGHAM, CLLR YVONNE MOSQUITO on the 13th of October 2018.
Commissioned by PUNCH as a cultural legacy of the BASS 2018 festival.
STEEL PULSE is a Roots Reggae band which formed in Handsworth in 1975 - the first non-Jamaican act to win a GRAMMY award for Best Reggae Album. Closely associated with the ROCK AGAINST RACISM movement in the late seventies, STEEL PULSE built new audiences for Reggae as they toured the UK with a diverse range of bands including THE STRANGLERS. Signing to Reggae superlabel ISLAND RECORDS, they released HANDSWORTH REVOLUTION in 1978.
HANDSWORTH REVOLUTION was seen as a breakthrough release for Roots Reggae and for the development of Reggae internationally. It addressed the ideas and concerns of artists and audiences outside Jamaica while remaining authentically Roots. HANDSWORTH REVOLUTION is today widely regarded as a landmark album in UK music, with songwriting, production and passionate musicianship which remain strongly influential.
