Birming-Strong • Our Story. Our Contribution.

Reggae Manœuvres After Dark

A Reasoning on Sixty Years of Caribbean Music in Birmingham and Beyond

← Birming-StrongExhibition

Birming-Strong photograph 1 of 10
Birming-Strong photograph 2 of 10
Birming-Strong photograph 3 of 10
Birming-Strong photograph 4 of 10
Birming-Strong photograph 5 of 10
Birming-Strong photograph 6 of 10
Birming-Strong photograph 7 of 10
Birming-Strong photograph 8 of 10
Birming-Strong photograph 9 of 10
Birming-Strong photograph 10 of 10
What happens when you gather Birmingham’s Caribbean music pioneers in a room, switch off the formalities and let history find its own rhythm?

You get REGGAE MANŒUVRES AFTER DARK: an unhosted, unscripted and largely unedited reasoning that journeys through six decades of musical innovation, cultural exchange, enterprise and extraordinary human endeavour.

Unhosted
Unscripted
Largely unedited

Around the room:

Rose FrankBernie DixonBasil GabbidonMykal BrownToney Owens

They bring their memories, experiences and differing perspectives to an open-ended conversation where blues meets mento, American soul encounters Jamaican rhythms, and sound-system culture connects generations, continents and communities. From Sam Cooke and Fats Domino to The Wailers, Joe Higgs and Jimi Hendrix, the discussion traces the influences, mentors, musicians, engineers, selectors, promoters and entrepreneurs who helped shape a distinctive Caribbean musical landscape.

No running orderNo rigid running order to follow.
No manufactured controversyJust honest voices and real memories.
No clockNothing dictating when the conversation must end.

Instead, recollections collide, disputed dates provoke affectionate challenges, spontaneous singing interrupts the storytelling, and music occasionally speaks louder than words. Hedley Jones’s pioneering engineering and the ingenuity of Jamaica’s sound-system builders remind us that behind every great musical movement lie technical brilliance, resourcefulness and imagination.

Living history, not nostalgia on demand.

It explores not only who made the music, but where it happened, how opportunities were created, which barriers were overcome and whose contributions remain overlooked.

Part of Birming-Strong • Our Story. Our Contribution, this intimate cultural record preserves the voices, personalities, debates and musical memories that deserve their place in Birmingham’s heritage — and in the wider story of Caribbean music’s global influence.

Our Icons

  • Bernie DixonPromoter · Former Aswad Manager
  • Toney “Tony The First” OwensFormer Musical Youth Manager / Venue Manager
  • Rosealee “Miss Rose” FrankReggae promoter, Midlands
  • Basil GabbidonFormer Founder of Steel Pulse / Producer
  • Mykal “Wassifa” Brown MBEWassifa Sound / Pioneer / Lecturer

Photos by Jesse Gerald Photography

← Birming-StrongExhibition