After The Sunday Times recently placed Reggae 45 in it’s “Top 50 Podcasts of 2017”, Turtle Bay and Don Letts are ready to unleash their latest podcast edition. The cultural icon and all-round musical magician teamed up with the Caribbean restaurant and bar franchise last year to produce an initial run of 4 podcasts. However, with popular demand and what would be Bob Marley’s 73rd birthday looming, the pair have cooked up an irresistible recipe to kickstart Reggae 45 and it’s 2018 campaign. DMCWORLD checks in with the main man…
Hi Don, thanks for taking the time to chat to us! Reggae 45 is back with a Bob Marley Special, can you tell us a little bit about the podcast, how the idea came about? What can people expect to hear?
Hey Turtle Bay made me an offer I couldn’t refuse and it tasted good! But in all seriousness, in the year that would have seen Bob reach his 73rd birthday it seemed like a good opportunity to reflect on a much missed presence in the music business especially in these turbulent times.
You’ve enjoyed success with Reggae 45 – it was named in The Sunday Times’ Top 50 podcasts of 2017 – do you have any specific highlights or favourite parts out of any of the previous 4 podcasts or the new one?
To be honest those four Turtle Bay Reggae 45 podcasts were my first attempt at what is a new medium to me and I’ve still not listened to one yet!
You were lucky enough to know Bob Marley, can you tell us a little bit about your relationship with him?
He was staying around the corner from ‘Acme Attractions’ (a shop I ran on the Kings Road Chelsea) and I took care of his nutritional requirements – which meant I saw him quite a bit! The last time we spoke we had a disagreement about punk rock which I was defending. Not long after he had a change of heart and wrote the tune ‘Punky Reggae Party’.
And from a working perspective you directed some of his music videos – can you tell us about that process?
The music videos I made for ‘One Love’, ‘Waiting in Vain’ and ‘Get Up Stand Up’ were all made after Bob’s passing. Funnily enough even though my camera was always with me back then when I was around Bob I put it down and just dug the moment.
Which are your top 3 Bob Marley tracks?
Get Up, Stand Up
Natural Mystic
Satisfy My Soul
Has it been nice to reminisce and talk about Bob Marley on what would have been his 73rd birthday? What have your highlights of the whole project been?
I had mixed feelings about the project; on one hand it was a buzz listening to Chris’s unique insight into the man that gave me the confidence to be me – on the other you have to ask, where are the Bob Marley’s of today?
Can we expect to hear more Reggae 45 podcasts in the future?
Sure hope so……
You can tune into Don’s Culture Clash Radio Show on BBC 6 Music on Sundays and listen to Don Letts’ Reggae 45 podcast here…
