@asonnenshine It's Style. He manages to be extremely inventive within such a strict, regimented form, and he probably has the hardest, toughest drum sound of any of Jamaica's many talented drummers. If Roots Radics didn't invent dancehall, they certainly helped progress the genre. Early hip hop (Cool Herc, KRS-One, etc.) also borrowed directly from them, and it's impossible not to hear similarities to some of the southern rap that incorporates their slow, sparse, heavy sound.
I've always wondered how the Sleng Teng and syth horns replaced the popularity of bands like the Roots Radics. To me, this is the absolute pinnacle of Reggae. Scientist and Jammy were engineering some of the most gifted instrumentalists in the history of the genre with techniques that Tubby handed down. And you have some of the purest vocalists like Issacs, Levy, Brown and the rest hitting their stride in the early eighties. Massive.
Same way that the music evolved in America. Early 80s was the rise of hip hop and drum machines. New technology in the music world brought upon that change that inevitably changed the whole world
Whoever came up with the idea to pair Gregory Isaacs and Roots Radics is a friggin' genius. This is from one of the greatest albums of all time. Why does the camera always find the people who CAN'T dance?
@MrUriel777 I saw the Roots Radics several times while they were at their height, and yes, they were the best reggae band on the planet, and Flabba would literally shake the floor with his throbbing bass playing. Unforgettable!
Man, the Roots Radics and Gregory Isaacs gettin' busy! To me, they were like the reggae equivalent to Booker T. and the MGs when they were backing up Otis Redding: couldn't top them once they had the right man for the job out front!!! Such was the case with Gregory and the Roots Radics back during the early 80s. There was just NO stoppin' em then... ;-)
I remember seeing this. Great cool performance by Gregory and The Radics. I've watched many live reggae performances on tv and online since but for the sound quality, NOTHING COMES CLOSE TO THIS. I can only imagine how sublime it sounded if you were there.
That's the sound of the Roots Radics band.. check out Bunny wailer live at Madison Square garden, Or Gregory Isaacs 'noght nurse' Live at Sunsplash.. one of Reggae's best backing bands of all time!
FINALLY...quality sound & picture! Miss the man much...so any snip is endearing! But the time taken to present such quality, takes my pleasure to a higher level.
SO tru..I swear everytime I watch that performance the drum has me mesmerized! The Roots Radics were so sick...Big ups to them and big ups to Gregory...He was so cute then..
just love it.i ve listen it 14 times in 1 hour. great son. and the roots radics are great i went a concert of israek vibration and they played fantastic.
Style on drums - inimitable. A revelation when he came on the scene - simple and muscular - a kind of John Bonham for Reggae. Sits back in his chair, uses the biggest sticks ever seen - look at that cymbal crash at 1.44 -, and sits in the groove effortlessly. Perfect for Gregory to relax onto. Wonderful stuff!
Gregory was at his height here. Nignt Nurse just came out, and in 1984 he played at The Academy in Briixton with the same band line up as here, plus the brass band, which became his BEST show of his career and one of the greatest concerts ever. He quickly deteriorated from too much Babylon, his voice got smaller and so did his body. It doesn't take away from his impact or reduce his character to me in the slightest! On the contrary, it adds undeniable humanity. Similar to cricism a few people expressed when they learned that, "Bob Marley took cocaine." As a rock star worldwide in the 1970s, is anyone surprised? I know first hand the struggle of what it was like, what happened, and what it is like now. And fools in glass houses shouldn't throw stones.
Bob, Delroy, Dennis, Garnet, Desmond, Culture, Alton, Sugar, Gregory - great voices silenced one by one. But their music remains. It seem only yesterday when I first saw this broadcast, yet it was nearly half my lifetime (and Gregory's) ago. Let's treasure Bob A, Ken B, Jimmy C, Beres H, John H, Freddy M, the Burning Spear, and others who've sweetened up our lives, while we still have them! They're here today, but (like us) could be gone tomorrow! CDF-Air [check on myspace under "cdfair"]
Scott Sorrell true , but there was something about that era that i would love to have been part of lol, and saying that i still havent seen radics and would love to!!!
@MrScottbenz yessss I love your observation i've been asking myself that all the time, howww couldddd thingsss go so wrong in jamaica for an entire culture like this to basically disappear!!!! It's gotta be the cocaine man , it has destroyed everything
@raggabass once saw him and john holt play together with an orchestra.. massive. I also had the pleasure of seeing gregory... cocoa tea didn't show up and out of no where the cool ruler graced us with his musical gift.
Back in 92 I met the roots radics along with Charlie Chaplin and Peter Broggs. They pulled up in a beat up trailer to Culure Beat records on 4th street in Long Beach, CA, those were the days!
thats gotta be sly dunbar on drums. he always had a timbale over on the right instead of a floor tom and look at the way he hits it during the fill at 1:42. the arm wave is a trademark. he also hits the snare with the butt end of the stick which is a sly thing and its positioned high like he plays it. if this isnt him then this dudes an exact replica down to drum kit, style, hat, hair and sound.
Yeah... my mistake. (I'm holding my head down in shame and embarassment.) I was obsessed with the Radics, for many years, but I guess the lack of visuals left me unclear as to which of my reggae guitar heros was which. I thought I had it figured out from the album covers... but alas I didn't. Sorry Bingi. Sorry Dwight.
This looks and sounds like Sly on the drums (Robbie on bass?) here in this video, pretty killer drummer if ya ask me! :-) I love the way he plays those snare buzzes and timbale accents. Cool to see how he places his timbale where a floor tom might be, his floor tom is racked up high to the right.
Depends what you mean by "original." Style Scott is actually their current touring drummer; he's technically not their "original," but he was the man for all the Isaacs collabs, including this performance.
Def agree with you. There are some quality acts out there today that keep the tradition of good solid reggae music alive :)...I personally love morgan heritage, gyptian, junior kelly, and richie spice :)
@enzocanales this isnot really a concert we were invited to do the tube cause cool down the pace was on the chart at time ps iwas there has road manger .ruddy isaacs
Flabba is just great on bass! Love it
Q grandeee gregorio!!
larga vida al reggae
@asonnenshine It's Style. He manages to be extremely inventive within such a strict, regimented form, and he probably has the hardest, toughest drum sound of any of Jamaica's many talented drummers.
If Roots Radics didn't invent dancehall, they certainly helped progress the genre. Early hip hop (Cool Herc, KRS-One, etc.) also borrowed directly from them, and it's impossible not to hear similarities to some of the southern rap that incorporates their slow, sparse, heavy sound.
Look how lame the crowd is...if I watched Gregory in top form (early-mid 1980's) with that particular line-up of Radics, I'd probably have a stroke.
çà c mon pote abass
il assure
If my girl isnt dancing to Gregory like the lady at 3:13 I dont want it
This GREAT band backed Gregory on 3 albums I believe.
I've always wondered how the Sleng Teng and syth horns replaced the popularity of bands like the Roots Radics. To me, this is the absolute pinnacle of Reggae.
Scientist and Jammy were engineering some of the most gifted instrumentalists in the history of the genre with techniques that Tubby handed down. And you have some of the purest vocalists like Issacs, Levy, Brown and the rest hitting their stride in the early eighties.
Massive.
MrScottbenz Couldn't put it better myself. Amazing times I feel lucky to have been around for.
Jamaica is as Jamaica does. Coming out of civil war and different drugs. The drum pattern did need to change a bit tho I think.
Same way that the music evolved in America. Early 80s was the rise of hip hop and drum machines. New technology in the music world brought upon that change that inevitably changed the whole world
Style Scott killing the snare 1:30, RIP Style.
No one could lay it down like Style. A style of his own,no pun intended.
shonenmouse 🙏🔥🔥
I was so priveledged to have been on the guest list with back stage pass for this performance at the tube studio in newcastle....
FLABBA , Jamaïca number one Bass player .... -) Flabba is the cool ruler on Bass, a real monument in Reggae music, I love Flabba -)
Great Roots Radics!!!!!
Whoever came up with the idea to pair Gregory Isaacs and Roots Radics is a friggin' genius. This is from one of the greatest albums of all time.
Why does the camera always find the people who CAN'T dance?
I think the same!!! check out "More gregory" its with the roots radics. one of the best reggae albums out there
🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥 roots radic amd Gregory
Gregory at his BEST.👍
style on drums
believe me
this video is pretty much perfect. this is what i call "culture music". it deserve more view
Style Scott on the drums, Hard and Tuff! RIP!
the classic album is called, Night Nurse, on the Island label.
the whole record is a jam, with the Roots Radics on every tune.
Yup. In this time frame those are about the two best things you could see. I still maintain that reggae peaked post-Marley in the early eighties!
Best Tune! Best Live! Best Sound...
Flabba Holt my hero.!
RIP Lincoln Valentine Scott aka Style Scott
@MrUriel777 I saw the Roots Radics several times while they were at their height, and yes, they were the best reggae band on the planet, and Flabba would literally shake the floor with his throbbing bass playing. Unforgettable!
doesnt get better than the roots radics. big up to bingy bunny. thanks for the video
What a band what a style what a sound - the Radics are gorgeous. And how I miss the tube the finest live music tv-program the BBC presented to date.
Gregory's music is timeless. I still play him from time to time..What a shame that they dont make it like this no more.
Saw Gregory and Radics in Manchester 1980 something. Their sound was so incredibly tight. Really comes through on this video. Sooo Sweet
Man, the Roots Radics and Gregory Isaacs gettin' busy! To me, they were like the reggae equivalent to Booker T. and the MGs when they were backing up Otis Redding: couldn't top them once they had the right man for the job out front!!! Such was the case with Gregory and the Roots Radics back during the early 80s. There was just NO stoppin' em then...
;-)
This shows the greatness and perfection of the Radics - and a sober Gregory. Awesome.
so good to watch them perform while their bodies were still capable of doing what their hearts were wanting to do... nuff thanks fa dis one seen!
Good job by Gregory. But the mindblowing element here are the gorgeous Roots Radics!
Gregory is a real Reggae Ambassador!!
Flabba holt...bassline...respect
The best Gregory clip on UA-cam!
great to see prime radics flabba bingy style brilliant band great sound quality great post ta love
power combinarion
roots radics & the master isaacs
great sound
big tune
Me faz lembrar da minha terra natal são Luís do Maranhão muito esse reggae
Relíquia do fundo do baú 🇧🇷🇯🇲
R.I.P Steely on Keyboards
Thanks . i didnt even notice
I remember seeing this. Great cool performance by Gregory and The Radics. I've watched many live reggae performances on tv and online since but for the sound quality, NOTHING COMES CLOSE TO THIS. I can only imagine how sublime it sounded if you were there.
sadly most people had no inerest in GI but I was there and can see myself... so greatful i witnessed Roots Radics at the height of their powers
That's the sound of the Roots Radics band.. check out Bunny wailer live at Madison Square garden, Or Gregory Isaacs 'noght nurse' Live at Sunsplash.. one of Reggae's best backing bands of all time!
How they can just stand there bored with such a sweet sound...I will never inderstand
Wow. Bingi Bunny playing lead guitar! Sweet. I miss the Roots Radics.
Jah Bless Mr.Issacs (RIP) and the Roots Radics, thank u for blessing the world with beautifully timeless reggae music.
THE classic reggae band. Always sound right and proper.
FINALLY...quality sound & picture! Miss the man much...so any snip is endearing! But the time taken to present such quality, takes my pleasure to a higher level.
Such a great time and music, those that put thumbs down.. Don't know what good music is!! Flawless and the band is in sync along with great vocals!
SO tru..I swear everytime I watch that performance the drum has me mesmerized! The Roots Radics were so sick...Big ups to them and big ups to Gregory...He was so cute then..
yes yes. roots radics + junjo lawes = tuffest riddims of all time. i like your john bonham comparison
I saw this same line up in '83 at the Roxy on sunset.. L.A was a stop for all the big acts back then...what a time
just love it.i ve listen it 14 times in 1 hour. great son. and the roots radics are great i went a concert of israek vibration and they played fantastic.
He cooled down the place...
Style on drums - inimitable. A revelation when he came on the scene - simple and muscular - a kind of John Bonham for Reggae. Sits back in his chair, uses the biggest sticks ever seen - look at that cymbal crash at 1.44 -, and sits in the groove effortlessly. Perfect for Gregory to relax onto. Wonderful stuff!
I liked the way he crashed it indeed! A Very relaxed drummer and good at his job!
lovin that bass
He had such a mellow voice
Gregory was at his height here. Nignt Nurse just came out, and in 1984 he played at The Academy in Briixton with the same band line up as here, plus the brass band, which became his BEST show of his career and one of the greatest concerts ever. He quickly deteriorated from too much Babylon, his voice got smaller and so did his body. It doesn't take away from his impact or reduce his character to me in the slightest! On the contrary, it adds undeniable humanity. Similar to cricism a few people expressed when they learned that, "Bob Marley took cocaine." As a rock star worldwide in the 1970s, is anyone surprised? I know first hand the struggle of what it was like, what happened, and what it is like now. And fools in glass houses shouldn't throw stones.
Bob, Delroy, Dennis, Garnet, Desmond, Culture, Alton, Sugar, Gregory - great voices silenced one by one. But their music remains. It seem only yesterday when I first saw this broadcast, yet it was nearly half my lifetime (and Gregory's) ago. Let's treasure Bob A, Ken B, Jimmy C, Beres H, John H, Freddy M, the Burning Spear, and others who've sweetened up our lives, while we still have them! They're here today, but (like us) could be gone tomorrow!
CDF-Air [check on myspace under "cdfair"]
i first heard this song on the radio but with mattafix singing it. i just found out gregory is the orignal singer and i looooove his version
Best Gregory Performance Ever!!!
wicked bassline!
One of my favorite Gregory songs.
radics rule
for all time
Big up Roots Radics. Essential Gregory. You Rocking Too Fast For Me.....
Style Scott is putting that snare drum under some serious pressure
So lucky to have seen him at Civic Centre in Aylesbury about 1981
if only i was alive back then to see this with my own eyes! Roots for i ver
They still perform.
Scott Sorrell true , but there was something about that era that i would love to have been part of lol, and saying that i still havent seen radics and would love to!!!
eu queria ta muito nesse Show que pra mim foi inesquesivel
Very 80's. Awesome!
@MrScottbenz yessss I love your observation i've been asking myself that all the time, howww couldddd thingsss go so wrong in jamaica for an entire culture like this to basically disappear!!!!
It's gotta be the cocaine man , it has destroyed everything
BIG TUNE...... RESPECT TO GREGORY AND ROOTS RADICS!!!!
tnx to mghifi for posting!!!
gregory the best music, very good!
What a special moment in time...lucky audience!
Still big listening in 2012 .
still is the jam, my brother is the one who introduced me to Gregory Isaacs, I am glad he did
Thats certainly Roots Radics my friends!!!
Never seen Gregory look so Handsome :-))
lol Lincoln Scott....Sly's always with Robbie
Jah Love
NICE, MUITO SON! EU GOSTO MUITO DESTA MUSICA
pra mim o melhor cantor de reggae de todos os tempos esse cara e a essencia do reggae music amei
It is Gregory Isaac not Freddie Mc
A essência do reggae.Grande Gregori Issacs
Understand....this music will never die.
💙Gorgeous Gregory Mr Suave Isaacs💙Perfect Delivery Time After Time💙
aww thankyou youtube for letting people show us some great classics and you mghifi cheers m8
ROOTS RADIX ALWAYS ON TIME
@raggabass once saw him and john holt play together with an orchestra.. massive. I also had the pleasure of seeing gregory... cocoa tea didn't show up and out of no where the cool ruler graced us with his musical gift.
Back in 92 I met the roots radics along with Charlie Chaplin and Peter Broggs. They pulled up in a beat up trailer to Culure Beat records on 4th street in Long Beach, CA, those were the days!
thats gotta be sly dunbar on drums. he always had a timbale over on the right instead of a floor tom and look at the way he hits it during the fill at 1:42. the arm wave is a trademark. he also hits the snare with the butt end of the stick which is a sly thing and its positioned high like he plays it. if this isnt him then this dudes an exact replica down to drum kit, style, hat, hair and sound.
roots radics verry good band its playing manny more tmes with israel vibrations
Yeah... my mistake. (I'm holding my head down in shame and embarassment.)
I was obsessed with the Radics, for many years, but I guess the lack of visuals left me unclear as to which of my reggae guitar heros was which. I thought I had it figured out from the album covers... but alas I didn't. Sorry Bingi. Sorry Dwight.
The cool ruler Mr Gregory Isaacs Epic with the Roots Radics Band🔥🔥🔥
This looks and sounds like Sly on the drums (Robbie on bass?) here in this video, pretty killer drummer if ya ask me! :-)
I love the way he plays those snare buzzes and timbale accents. Cool to see how he places his timbale where a floor tom might be, his floor tom is racked up high to the right.
hot stepper mi luv ya jah know african museum chanclory lane kingston number 9
@mronelove
Freddie Mcgregor is the last man standing,...next time he comes to your town take time to see him before he gets called home.
Depends what you mean by "original."
Style Scott is actually their current touring drummer; he's technically not their "original," but he was the man for all the Isaacs collabs, including this performance.
Def agree with you. There are some quality acts out there today that keep the tradition of good solid reggae music alive :)...I personally love morgan heritage, gyptian, junior kelly, and richie spice :)
whahah noo... she is just enjoying, if you stand there and you feel the bass you know what she feels
who feels it knows it
@raggabass those where days, we all had a great time, Gregory , Dennis, Sugar, Freddy music a lick dem time deh.....i
@enzocanales this isnot really a concert we were invited to do the tube cause cool down the pace was on the chart at time ps iwas there has road manger .ruddy isaacs
@lukafrikas I would call Style Scott's style 'rub-a-dub. That said, all over the internet people mistakenly refer to this riddim as 'rockers.' FAIL.
Can anyone tell me if the lead guitarist(the one in the tan and green shirt) is Bingy Bunny or Dwight Pinkney? and what kind of guitar is he using?
No disrepect to Sly Dunbar, but Roots Radics rule the studio and rule the dancehall from about 79 until about 85 when the Sleng Teng came out.
style greatest