Lovers Rock: British Reggae Night Feb 15 at Pon Top Kingston

Lovers’ rock took center stage when "Lovers Rock: A Night of British Reggae" was staged on February 15 at Pon Top Restaurant in Kingston, a one-night programme put together by photographer-broadcaster Steve James and long-time lovers’ rock stalwart Berty Grant. Organisers positioned the night within Reggae Month and billed it as a lovers’ rock-focused event for local fans and visiting patrons.

Steve James framed the show as the revival of a long-held plan, saying, “The thought has been lingering in my mind for a number of years now. I started to plan a lovers' rock show around 2010 with Sugar Minott and Vivian Jones as the main acts. However, Sugar [Minott] passed and the Dudus (West Kingston) incursion took place and after that occurred I didn’t really focus on it again, but the thought was always there.” James’ remarks trace the event back to a 2010 concept that stalled after Sugar Minott’s death and the West Kingston security crisis.

On the motivation for timing the night in Reggae Month, James added: “Then it occurred to me, ‘Why not do it in Reggae Month and try to make it an annual event when we have a lot of visitors who would appreciate what we are doing while encouraging Jamaicans to have a listen?” That stated intent, to establish an annual lovers’ rock showcase during the island’s Reggae Month, was a central line in advance publicity for the Pon Top event.

Co-organiser Berty Grant brings direct UK lovers’ rock credentials to the Kingston bill. Grant was born in Kingston, migrated to the UK in 1966 and “lived there for over 40 years,” and was described as “a big part of the sound system movement in the 1970s.” Grant’s production and engineering work linked him to the scene’s major voices: he “worked with most of them as an engineer and producer, including Sugar Minott, Jones, and Thompson,” placing him in the same orbit as Sugar Minott, Vivian Jones and Carroll Thompson.

The night leaned into the lovers’ rock lineage that emerged in late-1970s Britain amid racial turmoil in Britain’s West Indian communities. Organisers and advance copy framed lovers’ rock as “a mellow subgenre” and tied the sound to early artists such as Sugar Minott, Vivian Jones, Peter Hunnigale and Carroll Thompson; the event’s publicity also noted the UK–Jamaica crossover that saw Maxi Priest bring lovers’ rock back onto Jamaican airwaves in the 1980s and more recent UK-born names like Bitty McLean, referenced specifically for the song “Walk Away From Love.”

Promotional material for the show presented a Valentine’s Day flavour even as the event fell on February 15: advance copy included the fragment, “One historic night. A Valentine's Day Lovers Rock Concert designed to set hearts racing and couples swaying to classic love anthems that defined” (text supplied is truncated). Advance listings that accompanied the promotion did not include a start time, ticket price, performer lineup or Pon Top’s street address, and those logistical details were not available in the publicity materials.

The Pon Top night landed amid a busy Reggae Month calendar: the Observer events listings also highlighted JaRIA Master Classes on Friday, February 27, Ladies Love Reggae at Dubwise Cafe (82 Lady Musgrave Road) with entry for ladies free by RSVP and general admission J$1,500 at 8pm, Lost in Time Festival Day 1 at Hope Gardens on Saturday, February 28 (2pm–12am; tickets J$10,000–30,000), Tuesday Service at The Compound (3 Lancelin Ave) at 8pm (admission free), and the Kingston Night Market at 8 Hillcrest Avenue (5pm–11pm). Internationally, recent Eventbrite listings showed a vibrant UK lovers’ rock and reggae circuit with shows such as “Lovers Rock meets RnBX - London” at The Camden and Janet Kay and Carroll Thompson at the 100 Club in March.

Organisers said the Pon Top presentation was intended to signal a renewed local focus on the mellow lovers’ rock sound and to build a recurring Reggae Month attraction; James’ stated hope was to “try to make it an annual event” that both visiting and Jamaican audiences would appreciate.