Leroy Sibbles Praises Japan’s Reggae Devotion
The post Leroy Sibbles Praises Japan’s Reggae Devotion appeared first on Reggae Vibes.
Black News 
Leroy Sibbles Praises Japan’s Reggae Devotion
The first time Leroy Sibbles performed in Japan, it was the mid-1980s on Japan Splash, the country’s take on the Jamaican Reggae Sunsplash. The Asian country was reggae-mad during that era, and from what he saw there in April-May, nothing much has changed.
Sibbles’ ‘Party Time Tour’ played 13 cities in Japan. All club dates, some of the shows took place in traditionally-strong areas like Tokyo, Osaka and Yokohama.
“It was a great feeling to see the faces of everyone enjoying the music and singing along to song after song. It’s like these songs were released recently, and the Japanese bands backed me like they were the ones who recorded the music,” said the 77 year-old singer/bassist.
It was Sibbles’ first visit to Japan in nine years. The tour was named after one of the hit songs he recorded with The Heptones, arguably the most revered harmony group in reggae history.
Most of the songs Sibbles performed throughout the tour were from ‘Heptones On Top’, the classic 1969 album he, Earl Morgan and Barry Llewellyn recorded at Studio One with producer Clement Dodd.
In recent years, dancehall acts have toured Japan as a new generation of fans embrace contemporary sounds from Jamaica. But based on Sibbles’ observation, there is evidence that an appreciation for classic sounds abound.
“I realised that the people have a great deal of love for our reggae music and even stood out in the pouring rain and danced to the music at a day performance out in the countryside. That was more than proof of their dedication,” he stated.
Sibbles was backed by local bands such as Japonica and Ghost Syndicate on the tour, which also played in Sapporo, Hiroshima, Ibaraki, Sendai, Kagawa, Fukuoka, Okinawa, Senshu, Hyogo and Aichi. In addition to performing standards like ‘Party Time’, ‘Sea of Love’, ‘Equal Rights’ and ‘Book of Rules’, he gave audiences lessons about his work as a bass guitarist and the countless hit songs he played on.
Some of those songs include ‘Sata Masa Gana’ and ‘Declaration of Rights’ by The Abyssinians; ‘What Kind of World’ by The Cables; ‘Mr. Bassie’ (Horace Andy); ‘Door Peep’ (Burning Spear); and the instrumental ‘Full Up’ which drove songs like ‘Pass The Kutchie’ and ‘Pass The Dutchie’, the international smash by Musical Youth.
(Photo contributed)
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