In There and Black Again, Don Letts looks back on his exceptional life, which has seen him befriend Bob Marley after sneaking into his hotel, join The Clash’s White Riot tour as manager of The Slits and become one of the UK’s most highly regarded video directors just as the MTV boom hit.
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Summary
In There and Black Again, Don Letts looks back on his exceptional life, which has seen him befriend Bob Marley after sneaking into his hotel, join The Clash’s White Riot tour as manager of The Slits and become one of the UK’s most highly regarded video directors just as the MTV boom hit.
Description
Don Letts – filmmaker, musician, DJ, broadcaster, social commentator, husband and father – has always defied conformity. A British-born son of Windrush parents, he seamlessly pivoted between London’s punk and reggae scenes – earning his reputation as the ‘Rebel Dread’. This edition has been updated by Don for 2024.
In There and Black Again, Don Letts looks back on his exceptional life, which has seen him befriend Bob Marley after sneaking into his hotel, join The Clash’s White Riot tour as manager of The Slits and become one of the UK’s most highly regarded video directors just as the MTV boom hit.
Told in part as scenes from a movie shot on location in London, Kingston, New York City, Los Angeles, Windhoek, Salt Lake City and Goldeneye, There and Black Again co-stars a cast of hundreds, including Joe Strummer, John Lydon, Bob Marley, Chrissie Hynde, Chris Blackwell, Paul McCartney, Nelson Mandela, Keith Richards, Patti Smith, Chuck D., Malcolm McLaren and Vivienne Westwood.
With reflections on the Black Lives Matter movement and the highs and lows of personal relationships, this impactful book includes moments of civil unrest, live music, humour and political struggle. There and Black Again is the refreshing and often unexpected story of a man who has never been afraid to tread his own path.
Critic Reviews
"Lavished with the author's cinematic eye" MOJO
"A hoot of a book ... but also probes the highs and lows of Letts's personal life and offering pertinent insights into race." The Irish Times
"The Don's tale, upgraded, expanded, marinated in late-life wisdom... even opening up on relationship roller-coasters. The fullest picture yet of the man behind the shades" Classic Rock
About the Author
Don Letts is as old as rock 'n' roll (b. 1956) and has lived a life infused with music, style and attitude. As DJ at London's premier punk venue The Roxy (1977) Don introduced punks to reggae, and Bob Marley to the punky-reggae party. He made his first film while working at The Roxy (The Punk Rock Movie) using a hand-held Super-8 camera. Twenty years later Don directed the most successful Jamaican movie of all time, Dancehall Queen. In 1979 he directed the video for 'London Calling' by The Clash, after which he became renowned as one of the world's most prolific and successful music video directors, going on to make more than 300 promos for artists as diverse as Elvis Costello, P.i.L and Ratt. Don co-wrote four hugely successful and influential Big Audio Dynamite albums and toured the world in the 1980s, performing in front of thousands of people. The band played sell-out gigs around the world on a reunion tour in 2011.
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