Ever since "Catch a Fire" and the superb guitar on "Stir it Up" I had been a big fan of Peter Tosh and having caught Marley's stupendous last ever gig in the UK the previous year, I wanted to see what a Peter Tosh gig would be like.
In a Rainbow theatre dense with smoke, which Tosh contributed to throughout the gig, Tosh cut a talismanic figure strutting around the stage as he played. The single thing that surprised me was how much of a rock'n'roller he was. The man played reggae but he did so with a real rock'n'roll edge. He also surprised me with his athleticism. As the gig went on and he was getting more and more stoned he strode repeatedly towards the edge of the orchestra pit, to the extent that I could see an accident happening. Then in one heart-stopping moment he strode towards the pit and then took a leap across it that didn't seem possible.
The music was storming. "Get up stand up" and "Steppin' Razor" stick in my memory but otherwise the memory of specific tracks has faded. The memory of him and a fired up gig with serious attitude remains. I'm glad I was there.
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