Steve Barrow (born 29 September 1945) is a British

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the stu ...

scholar A scholar is a person who pursues academic and intellectual activities, particularly academics who apply their intellectualism into expertise in an area of study. A scholar can also be an academic, who works as a professor, teacher, or researche ...

archivist An archivist is an information professional who assesses, collects, organizes, preserves, maintains control over, and provides access to Document, records and archives determined to have long-term value. The records maintained by an archivist c ...

, writer and producer.Steve Barrow Interview
- ''Midnight Raver'' website (29 March 2013). Retrieved 21 April 2013.

Biography

While at Honest Jon's he met Peter Dalton, with whom he later collaborated on writing ''The Rough Guide to Reggae''. Between 1979 and 1980, he was hired freelance by

Island Records Island Records is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded in 1959 by Chris Blackwell, Graeme Goodall, and Leslie Kong in Jamaica, and was eventually sold to PolyGram in 1989. Island and A&M Records, anoth ...

to compile a series of vinyl releases: ''Intensified'', ''More Intensified'', ''Catch The Beat'' and ''The

Blue Beat Blue Beat Records is an English record label that released Jamaican rhythm and blues (R&B) and ska music in the 1960s and later decades. Its reputation led to the use of the word ''bluebeat'' as a generic term to describe all styles of early Jamai ...

Years''. From the 1970s and up to 1992, Barrow compiled many albums and wrote liner notes for

Trojan Records Trojan Records is a British record label founded in 1968. It specialises in ska, rocksteady, reggae and dub music. The label currently operates under the Sanctuary Records Group. The name ''Trojan'' comes from the Croydon-built Trojan truck t ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. In 1993, Barrow co-founded, along with

Mick Hucknall Michael James Hucknall (born 8 June 1960) is an English singer and songwriter. Hucknall achieved international fame in the 1980s as the lead singer and songwriter of the soul-influenced pop band Simply Red, with whom he enjoyed a 25-year career ...

, the Blood and Fire

record label A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the produ ...

which specialises in reissuing older

Jamaican music The music of Jamaica includes Jamaican folk music and many popular genres, such as mento, ska, rocksteady, reggae, dub music, dancehall, reggae fusion and related styles. Reggae is especially popular through the international fame of Bob Marle ...

. Barrow's extensive knowledge of reggae was the catalyst for the creation of the Jamaican Reggae

Archive An archive is an accumulation of historical records or materials – in any medium – or the physical facility in which they are located. Archives contain primary source documents that have accumulated over the course of an individual or ...

Project which is funded and owned by

Chris Blackwell Christopher Percy Gordon Blackwell (born 22 June 1937) is an English businessman and former record producer, and the founder of Island Records, which has been called "one of Britain's great independent labels". According to the Rock and Roll ...

with Barrow as ''de facto''

curator A curator (from la, cura, meaning "to take care") is a manager or overseer. When working with cultural organizations, a curator is typically a "collections curator" or an "exhibitions curator", and has multifaceted tasks dependent on the parti ...

. Between 1994 and 1995, Barrow (along with

Don Letts Donovan "Don" Letts (born 10 January 1956) is a British film director, disc jockey (DJ) and musician. Letts first came to prominence as the videographer for the Clash, directing several of their music videos. In 1984, Letts co-founded the band B ...

and Rick Elwood) conducted a series of interviews with Jamaican artists for the archive that aimed to preserve the

history History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the History of writing#Inventions of writing, invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbr ...

of the music. The interviews and other related material were an important factor in the writing of the book ''The Rough Guide to Reggae''.Steve Barrow Interview
- ''Mod Culture'' website (10 March 2012). Retrieved 21 April 2013. The reggae author David Katz credits Barrow's personal recommendation to Trevor Wyatt of Island Records for his involvement in the compiling of the 1997 Lee "Scratch" Perry CD set, ''Arkology''.
- ''Eternal Thunder'' (February 2001). Interview by Mick Sleeper. Retrieved 18 June 2013. In 2004, Barrow co-founded the reggae reissue label

Hot Pot Music Cooking Vinyl is a British independent record label, based in Acton, London, England, founded in 1986 by former manager and booking agent Martin Goldschmidt and business partner Pete Lawrence. Goldschmidt remains the current owner and chairma ...

Bibliography

*''The Rough Guide to Reggae'' with

Peter Dalton Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a su ...

, 1997 for the first edition,

Rough Guides Limited Rough Guides Ltd is a British travel guide book and reference publisher, which has been owned by APA Publications since November 2017. In addition to publishing guidebooks, the company also provides a tailor-made trips service based on customer ...

, *''The Rough Guide

Reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...

: 100 Essential Cds'', 1999, Rough Guides Limited, *''

King Jammy Lloyd James (born 26 October 1947),Barrow, Steve & Dalton, Peter: "Reggae: The Rough Guide", 1997, Rough Guides, better known as Prince Jammy or King Jammy, is a Jamaican dub mixer and record producer. He began his musical career as a dub ma ...

's'', with

Beth Lesser Beth may refer to: Letter and number * Bet (letter), or beth, the second letter of the Semitic abjads (writing systems) *Hebrew word for "house", often used in the name of synagogues and schools (e.g. Beth Israel) Name *Beth (given name) lists ...

, 2002,

ECW Press ECW Press is a Canadian book publisher located in Toronto, Ontario. It was founded by Jack David and Robert Lecker in 1974 as a Canadian literary magazine named ''Essays on Canadian Writing''. They started publishing trade and scholarly book ...

, UK,

References

External links

Steve Barrow interview at NiceupAudio interview with Steve Barrow at Big Mikey Dread Reggae Radio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Barrow, Steve British music critics Reggae journalists Living people 1945 births People from Forest Gate