The Story of Lover's Rock comes to The Drum

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The Story of Lovers Rock-Press Release.pdf (262.75 kb)

AWARD WINNING UK DIRECTOR REVIVES LOVERS ROCK MUSIC WITH NEW DOCUMENTARY

The Story of Lovers Rock is a new documentary film that tells the story of how Lovers Rock music defined a generation in the late 70s and 80s hugely impacting on British Pop Culture. The film which will be released on 30 September 2011 in the UK is produced and directed by award winning director/producer Menelik Shabazz; this marks a return after a 30 year absence.

THE DRUM, Sat 4 NOV 2011:

The feature length documentary contains interviews, comedy sketches, dance, live performances and archive footage which are used to shed light on the music and the generation that embraced it.

Lovers Rock often dubbed romantic reggae is a unique British sound, the genre developed against a backdrop of racial tension, the Brixton riots and sound systems in the late 70s and 80s. It went from a small UK scene to become a global phenomenon through artists like UB40 and Maxi Priest.

Shabazz stated.

“The film connects the music with the children of that era, a generation whose story has rarely been told. Lovers Rock was significant because it provided the space for young people to share intimate feelings through dance which is absent with today's generation”.

Despite international success the genre has been hugely ignored by the British mainstream. Yet the music went on to influence a number of successful bands in the 80s like Culture Club, Sade, and the Police. Lovers Rock helped to bridge a multicultural gap that polarized the times.

Lovers Rock allowed young people to experience intimacy and healing through dance- known as “scrubbing” at parties and clubs. They identified with the music as it spoke to their notions and emotions of romantic love and formed a coping mechanism for what they were experiencing on the streets. Lovers Rock developed with national UK hits with artist like Janet Kay “Silly Games” riding the British charts several times, first hitting the charts in 1979, moving successfully into the European Charts. Kay has been recorded in the Music Guinness Book of Records, as the first British black female to have a reggae song at the top of the UK charts.

Kay features in the documentary alongside other artists who contributed to the success of the genre. The list of contributors include UB40, Maxi Priest, Levi Roots, Linton Kwesi Johnson, comedians Angie Le Mar, Robbie G, Eddies Nestor alongside new artists like Ava Leigh and Lovella Ellis..

Today the music is being embraced by young talent like Ava Leigh and Lovella Ellis, daughter of the legendary reggae artist Alton Ellis.

Ava said “Lovers rock is the first genre of reggae I had ever heard; we come from a small town called Chester, up North, where there is no reggae scene, or any music scene. So the first time I heard that genre was my mum, my mum really loved Lovers Rock”

The film is distributed in conjunction with Verve Pictures and Sun Ra.

NOTES TO EDITORS

MENELIK SHABAZZ

Best known for his award winning feature film BURNING AN ILLUSION is one of the pioneers of black British cinema. THE STORY OF LOVERS ROCK marks his return after a 30 years absence from cinema. The film shot digitally brings him into a new age of filmmaking, and social media.

FILM WEBSITE: http://www.loversrockthefilm.com/

Contributors:

http://www.avaleigh.co.uk/

www.janetkay.com

CREDITS

Distributed in conjunction with Verve Pictures. Running time: 96mins

Director/Producer

MENELIK SHABAZZ

For cast information, stills, synopsis and interviews please email JOY: loversrockpress@publicist.com

Tel: +447934630287

EVENT INFO

Venue: The Drum | 144 Potters Lane | Aston | Birmingham | B6 4UU