Let's put aside The Pogues and the punks for a moment and talk about reggae and ska, shall we? Bob Marley: the alpha and omega of any discussion of reggae... not that we knew any better in 1982 when this was the soundtrack of the summer (and fall, and winter, and spring) of Grade 10. I first heard this record at my friend Dave Pankhurst's house. Dave I'd known since my first day of elementary school in Edmonton in 1975. He started Grade 3 with me at Westbrook Elementary in Aspen Gardens. I asked him if I could borrow his 'rubber'. He had no idea what I was talking about. We were estranged for a while during junior high, then re-united in high school. Dave's parents were always away, which made his house the logical place to hang around during spares (when we weren't otherwise studiously engaged in learning). His house had two things that set it apart from those of all my other friends: 1) a swimming pool; 2) the most elaborate stereo system you have ever seen including the biggest set of speakers known to mankind. We put both of these unique features to exhaustive use, much to the chagrin of Dave's neighbours.I should also add that Dave is one of the very few people I know whose claim to be descended from somebody famous actually stands up to scrutiny. His great great (?) grandmother was Emily Pankhurst, a militant suffragette who fought for the right of women to vote.
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