麻豆约拍

Dub poet and reggae artist Linton Kwesi Johnson is castaway by Sue Lawley.

Linton was born in 1950s rural Jamaica.

He lived in a farming community and looked after the animals, helping with the sugar harvest and fetching firewood. He lived with his grandmother after his parents separated, loving being the man of the house. She would entertain the young Linton, who she called "me husband", with folk songs, stories and ghost stories.

In 1963, when he was 11 years old, Linton came to live in England. It was a huge contrast:

"I had this childhood idea that literally the streets of London would be paved with gold and everybody living affluent lifestyles. So it was a bit of an eye-opener for me when I came and saw all these grey buildings with chimneys and smoke coming out of them and to see a white person sweeping the street!"

He experienced racism at school, from peers and teachers alike, and became interested in the black movement. He joined the British Black Panthers in his teens, discovered black literature and began to write poetry of his own.

DISC ONE: Roy Richards & Baba Brooks Band - Contact
DISC TWO: Don Drummond - Eastern Standard Time
DISC THREE: John Lennon - Imagine
DISC FOUR: Charlie Parker - Embraceable You
DISC FIVE: Antonio Vivaldi - The Four Seasons - Spring
DISC SIX: Bob Marley & The Wailers - Redemption Song
DISC SEVEN: Otis Redding - My Lover's Prayer
DISC EIGHT: Marcia Griffiths - Feel Like Jumpin'

FAVOURITE TRACK: Charlie Parker - Embraceable You
BOOK CHOICE : One Hundred Years Of Solitude
LUXURY: A bass guitar

Produced by Lisa Jenkinson

First broadcast on 麻豆约拍 Radio 4 in 2002.

Show less