Documentary “When Bob Marley Came to Britain” To Showcase Reggae Icon’s UK Influence

A new one-hour Bob Marley documentary will focus on the Reggae legend influence in on British culture.

“When Bob Marley Came to Britain” is set to be released this month on BBC2, the film will investigate the Jamaican reggae singer’s influence on the United Kingdom’s music scene.

The doc will include never before seen footage and interviews with people who met and knew Marley across the UK.

The Reggae icon moved to London in 1977, one month after surviving an assassination attempt at his home in Jamaica. Bob Marley occupied a three-storey home at 42 Oakley Street in fashionable Chelsea.

When Bob Marley Came to Britian will “reveal how [Marley’s] presence helped influence British politics, culture and identity, during a time of massive social and civil unrest in the UK – and how his universal message of One Love and unity helped inspire a generation of black British youth,” BBC said.

“This film also takes a revealing look at Marley’s time in Britain: the houses he lived in, football kickabouts in Battersea Park and visits to the UK’s growing Rastafarian community, including secret gigs in the North of England. It was in Britain that Marley established himself as an international artiste, recorded some of his most successful albums and performed some of his most memorable concerts,” it continued.

“When Bob Marley Came to Britain” is produced and directed by Stuart Ramsay, while Karen Gabay produced the story. Mark Robinson of Wise Owl Films is credited as executive producer. The documentary will be narrated by British singer, songwriter Obaro ‘Ghostpoet’ Ejimiwe.

“We know that Bob Marley’s music has impacted on millions of people’s lives across the planet – but less well known are the life-changing stories of the people he met while he lived in the UK,” said Robinson.

“Although Marley lived and recorded in London during the Seventies he also toured the country extensively – from Teesside to Lancaster, Birmingham to Bristol – and helped change the culture of Britain along the way.” he went on to say.

“For this documentary we talked to those who have never forgotten their encounter with Marley – whether they accompanied him on tour, saw him perform in their school hall, or were present when he visited Rastafarian communities in the North of England,” he continued.