When I was growing up and buying records, one of the stand out labels was Greensleeves. Second hand shops would be full of either distinctive green and yellow 12″ sleeves or a design with a huge comic strip style sound system party going on. New releases were coming out and brighter riddim albums appeared, as reggae embraced it’s digital and dancehall age.
Even if you didn’t get a chance to listen to them in the shops, you would be sure you were buying a good record most of the time. I didnt even realise they were distributing other albums from JA which didn’t have the Greensleeves logo on them. NOW you can listen to hundred of releases on Spotify and other digital channels.
Here’s a live mix selection from the more vintage end of my vinyl collection with a little commentary on too. I would never have thought all those years ago that some time in the future I would be asked to do this mix – it’s a real honour, and i was slightly nervous about producing the goods!
Play it loud, play it quiet, work or work-out to it, cycle in the streets to it, stick in your ear buds or on your speakers, send it to your mate or your nan, there’s something fro everyone!
“Revered in the late ’70s, ’80s and ’90s as the number one destination for both the sound of Jamaica, and for Caribbean-influenced black British music, Greensleeves created a distinct reputation as a pioneer in Dancehall music and the Rub-A-Dub style. Just like Motown or Blue Note it defined a genre yet remained firm in its mission to bring authentic Reggae to its fans. It declined to court the mainstream ensuring its cult status for years to come.”
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