Top 10 Favorite Reggae Songs #9 - "Roller Skates"
@teamfreak16 (43421)
Denver, Colorado
April 28, 2016 7:39am CST
#9 in my Top 10 Favorite Reggae Songs series comes to us not from Jamaica, but from England.
Led by vocalist/guitarist David Hinds, Steel Pulse are a politically-charged, Grammy-winning roots reggae band.
Their excellent 1984 album, Earth Crisis, featured the band's usual political fare, but it also included a little gem called "Roller Skates."
The highly-polished "Roller Skates" casts the protest songs aside to tell the story of a roller skater who hangs out on the corner with his boom box.
When his precious radio is stolen by a man "smoking a big, fat cigar in a flashy car," Roller Skates takes off in hot pursuit.
Because I am obsessed with music, one lyric in particular stands out: "Life without music, I can't cope."
Hinds tells a fun story on "Roller Skates," and the song is one of the most catchy reggae tunes I've heard in all my years as a reggae fan.
Thanks to @JohnRoberts for starting the Top 10 craze here on MyLot.
(Note: there will be no Bob Marley in this series, as I want to focus on other deserving bands.)
4 people like this
3 responses
@teamfreak16 (43421)
• Denver, Colorado
29 Apr 16
I found no evidence that it was any sort of hit, so you'd pretty much have had to own the Earth Crisis or Smash Hits (if it wasn't a hit, why is it on a compilation called Smash Hits?) albums.
2 people like this
@Ronrybs (17849)
• London, England
29 Apr 16
@teamfreak16 Over here Smash Hits was a music magazine, which I think printed the lyrics of pop songs!
2 people like this
@teamfreak16 (43421)
• Denver, Colorado
28 Apr 16
Me too. I always thought they were one of the better second generation reggae bands.
1 person likes this
@JohnRoberts (109857)
• Los Angeles, California
28 Apr 16
Steel Pulse is a major well known band. Been around forever.
2 people like this
@teamfreak16 (43421)
• Denver, Colorado
28 Apr 16
Yep. And they're still at it. They are a great live band. I saw them at Red Rocks and again at a Reggae Sunsplash tour in Breckenridge.
1 person likes this
