Steel Pulse in Kahului

About the artist

Steel Pulse is a roots reggae musical band, from the Handsworth area of Birmingham, England, which has a large majority of Afro-Caribbean, Indian and other Asian migrants. They originally formed at Handsworth Wood Boys School, composed of David Hinds (lead vocals, guitar), Basil Gabbidon (lead guitar, vocals), and Ronald McQueen (bass). Formed in 1975, their debut release, Kibudu, Mansetta And Abuku arrived on the small independent label Dip, and linked the plight of urban black youth with the image of a greater African homeland. They followed it with Nyah Luv for Anchor. They were initially refused live dates in Caribbean venues in Birmingham due to their Rastafarian beliefs. Aligning themselves closely with the Rock Against Racism organisation and featuring in its first music festival in early 1978, they chose to tour with sympathetic elements of the punk movement, including the Stranglers, XTC etc.: "Punks had a way of enjoying themselves - throw hordes at you, beer, spit at you, that kind of thing". Eventually they found a more natural home in support slots for Burning Spear, which brought them to the attention of Island Records. Their first release for Island was the Ku Klux Klan 45, a considered tilt at the evils of racism, and one often accompanied by a visual parody of the sect on stage. By this time their ranks had swelled to include Selwyn "Bumbo" Brown (keyboards), Steve "Grizzly" Nisbett (drums), Alphonso Martin (vocals, percussion) and Mykaell Riley (vocals). Handsworth Revolution was an accomplished long-playing record and one of the major landmarks in the evolution of British reggae (Executive Producer Pete King). However, despite critical and moderate commercial success over three albums, the relationship with Island Records had soured by the advent of their third album, Caught You (released in the US as Reggae Fever). The band made their U.S. concert debut at the Mudd Club in New York in 1980.