Born 19th July 1954 in Kingston, Jamaica the music of Errol ‘Flabba’ Holt will be familiar to everyone who knows and loves reggae music from the countless records he played on as a key member of The Roots Radics… the band whose signature sound defined the early Eighties in much the same way as The Skatalites had done in the early Sixties and The Revolutionaries in the mid-Seventies.
His early recordings were as a vocalist on releases including ‘Girl From Manchester’ for Rupie Edwards, ‘Jah Will Provide’ for Hartnel ‘Sky High’ Henry and ‘Who Have Eyes To See’ for Michael ‘Prince Far I’ Williams and Flabba had become a highly respected bass guitarist by the time he joined The Morwells in 1977. Their name derived from a contraction of Maurice ‘Blacka Morwell’ Wellington who had formed the group four years previously with Eric ‘Bingy Bunny’ Lamont a childhood friend from the Kingston 12 ghetto district of Ghost Town. In 1974 Louis Davis a former member of The Versatiles (whose line up had included Junior Byles) joined The Morwells and together they created hit record after hit record for their Morwell Esq. label such as ‘Crab Race’, an update of The Melodians’ ‘Swing And Dine’, ‘Mafia Boss’ and ‘Kingston 12 Tuffy’ and the seriously sought after ‘Dub Me’ album with King Tubby.
In 1980 they changed their name to the Roots Rock band and a further change of name soon followed together with a radical change of direction. Now known as The Roots Radics the core line-up comprised Flabba on bass, Bingy Bunny on rhythm guitar, Wycliffe ‘Steely’ Johnson on keyboards, Lincoln Valentine ‘Style’ Scott on drums, veteran musical arranger and pianist Gladstone ‘Gladdy’ Anderson (also on keyboards) often accompanied by a stellar line up of Kingston’s top musicians. Style had trained as a drummer while serving in the Jamaican Army whose precise military percussion, especially on the snare drum, was often likened to a militant metronome and, together with Flabba’s obstinate bass lines, the group’s back to basics approach became the foundation of the dancehall style. Their raw rock solid rhythms built a bridge between the roots based music of the Seventies and the digital takeover of the mid-Eighties. Their music was ubiquitous… it would be quicker to list the records that the band didn’t play on and the artists they didn’t work with during this exciting period.
It is a pleasure and a privilege to join Flabba, “me is a man who play bass “, here as he narrates the stories behind some of The Roots Radics biggest hits, runs you through his epic bass lines and explains how history was made.
Songs Mentioned in the Video
Freddie McGregor: ‘Big Ship’ Thompson Sound 7” Producer Linval Thompson 1982
This huge hit was not only followed by an LP of the same title on Greensleeves in the UK but would also provide Freddie McGregor with the name for his own label. However, Flabba describes here how it nearly didn’t happen as “everybody a pack up and we leave” before recording “one more song…” that would become for Freddie “him biggest tune I ever heard”.
Gregory Isaacs: ‘Front Door’ African Museum 7” & 12” Producer Gregory Isaacs 1980
Michael Prophet: ‘Gun Man’ Volcano 7” Producer Henry ‘Junjo’ Lawes 1981
John Holt: ‘Police In Helicopter’ Volcano 7” Producer Henry ‘Junjo’ Lawes 1983
Sugar Minott: ‘No Vacancy’ Hit Bound 7” Producer: Winston ‘Niney The Observer’ Holness (for the Hoo Kim brothers @ Channel One) 1983
Barrington Levy: ‘Prison Oval Rock’ Arrival 7” Producer Henry ‘Junjo’ Lawes 1983
“It’s a hit tune this! Making ‘Prison Oval Rock is another movie… this is a history. Listen and learn” while Flabba takes you through the recording session at Channel One where Junjo, as always “carried a whole bag of young youth with him to his sessions” and his delight in recalling how “a me discover (Wycliffe) ‘Steely’ Johnson!”
