‘We had no future. So we made a future for ourselves’: the untold history of Welsh reggae sound systems
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<p>A country known more for rock and choral music became a hotspot of the dub reggae sound system scene in the 70s. Rival crews recall Cardiff’s riotous parties – and racist hostility</p><p>Growing up Black in Wales in the 1970s, “it was like we were cut off from the rest of mankind”, says Lawrence “Tylo” Taylor. “There was nothing for young Black people.”</p><p>Despite Cardiff being home to one of the oldest Black communities in the UK, stretching back to the 19th
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‘We had no future. So we made a future for ourselves’: the untold history of Welsh reggae sound systems A country known more for rock and choral music became a hotspot of the dub reggae sound system scene in the 70s. Rival crews recall Cardiff’s riotous parties – and racist hostility Growing up Black in Wales in the 1970s, “it was like we were cut off from the rest of mankind”, says Lawrence “Tylo” Taylor. “There was nothing for young Black people.” Despite Cardiff being home to one of the oldest Black communities in the UK, stretching back to the 19th century, it could be a tough place. “As children, the police would abuse you, calling you a Black bastard,” Tylo says. “There was pure racism in school and you’d be singled out by teachers and belittled. We grew up very disillusioned.” There was a cluster of people feeling similarly, looking to find their tribe and identity in Wales. Andrew “Bingham” Binns moved to Cardiff from London in 1970, when he was nine. “It was a culture shock,” he says. “I didn’t even know there was a Wales until I moved here.” As a teenager, he visited New York, Londonand Jamaica and came back changed. Bingham became a Rasta, leaning into his heritage and newfound identity as “a defence mechanism” against the turbulent times, and began to devour reggae. When a friend asked him if he wanted to join his sound system crew, it was a hard yes. Both Tylo and Bingham became players in one of the most unheralded, undocumented music scenes in British history: Welsh reggae sound systems. While London, Bristol, Leeds and more have famously vibrated to thunderous dub rhythms in street parties and dance halls – most famously of all at Notting Hill carnival – Wales’s own “sounds” aren’t as well known. But, because of that obscurity, they ended up cultivating some of the UK’s most hard-fought and intensely cherished African-Caribbean culture. Black International was the first sound system in Cardiff, followed by Conqueror Hi Power Sound System, set up by G...
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