dsmith2904
ONE love, blood, life
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Music Under Your Feet
Editor's Note: U2.com is featuring a members-only interview with Island Records founder Chris Blackwell that can be accessed here with snippets below. Included with the interview is a special offer for fans interested in staying at one of Blackwell's Jamaican results. Details on the offer are available here.
Chris Blackwell, the founder of Island Records, is one of the most successful independent entrepreneurs in the history of music.
Born in London in June 1937, he founded Island in 1959 and through a series of brilliant signings, turned it into the hippest of music names with acts ranging from Traffic to U2 to Tom Waits.
Most famous is Blackwell’s long relationship with Bob Marley and the Wailers, which introduced reggae to a global audience. Chris produced Marley’s ‘Catch A Fire’ in 1973 and ‘the first third world superstar’ remained with Island until his death in 1981.
These days Blackwell runs a chain of unique hotels, Island Outposts, in Jamaica, The Bahamas, Utah and South Beach. They’re pretty unusual – Bono says that they ‘put music under your feet.'
Goldeneye, for example, the flagship of the group, is the former home of Ian Fleming, the creator of James Bond and where Fleming wrote all the James Bond novels.
We’d been meaning to have a chat with Chris about his part in the U2 story for a while. When we did he came up with a pretty nice offer for any U2 fans interested in booking a break at one of their places.
U2.com : What's your first memory of U2 ?
CB : I have a very clear memory of going to see them at a little club in south London in 1980. I was persuaded to go along by Rob Partridge, the person in charge of publicity at Island Records who turned me onto them. I have a particularly strong memory of this night because it was an important day in another way - it turned out to be the last concert that Bob Marley ever played at Crystal Palace. I had just been to see Bob play and – I think because someone knew this – the U2 gig was arranged not so far away so that I could get along too.
I still remember how totally passionate they were about what they were doing. I totally believed in them. It was the passion and credibility of this band that I recall. I can only say that I believed in them - it’s hard to describe the things that make you believe in something. It was just there! Some acts I could tell you what it was about their music that captured me but with U2 it was something different – I think I responded more to them, than to their music, though I love their music. Their passion was so great, they seemed so real, it’s an intangible thing but I loved them and that’s how I feel about them twenty five years on!
--U2.com
Music Under Your Feet
Editor's Note: U2.com is featuring a members-only interview with Island Records founder Chris Blackwell that can be accessed here with snippets below. Included with the interview is a special offer for fans interested in staying at one of Blackwell's Jamaican results. Details on the offer are available here.
Chris Blackwell, the founder of Island Records, is one of the most successful independent entrepreneurs in the history of music.
Born in London in June 1937, he founded Island in 1959 and through a series of brilliant signings, turned it into the hippest of music names with acts ranging from Traffic to U2 to Tom Waits.
Most famous is Blackwell’s long relationship with Bob Marley and the Wailers, which introduced reggae to a global audience. Chris produced Marley’s ‘Catch A Fire’ in 1973 and ‘the first third world superstar’ remained with Island until his death in 1981.
These days Blackwell runs a chain of unique hotels, Island Outposts, in Jamaica, The Bahamas, Utah and South Beach. They’re pretty unusual – Bono says that they ‘put music under your feet.'
Goldeneye, for example, the flagship of the group, is the former home of Ian Fleming, the creator of James Bond and where Fleming wrote all the James Bond novels.
We’d been meaning to have a chat with Chris about his part in the U2 story for a while. When we did he came up with a pretty nice offer for any U2 fans interested in booking a break at one of their places.
U2.com : What's your first memory of U2 ?
CB : I have a very clear memory of going to see them at a little club in south London in 1980. I was persuaded to go along by Rob Partridge, the person in charge of publicity at Island Records who turned me onto them. I have a particularly strong memory of this night because it was an important day in another way - it turned out to be the last concert that Bob Marley ever played at Crystal Palace. I had just been to see Bob play and – I think because someone knew this – the U2 gig was arranged not so far away so that I could get along too.
I still remember how totally passionate they were about what they were doing. I totally believed in them. It was the passion and credibility of this band that I recall. I can only say that I believed in them - it’s hard to describe the things that make you believe in something. It was just there! Some acts I could tell you what it was about their music that captured me but with U2 it was something different – I think I responded more to them, than to their music, though I love their music. Their passion was so great, they seemed so real, it’s an intangible thing but I loved them and that’s how I feel about them twenty five years on!
--U2.com
