BRENT HEROES

Click through the list below to find out about the achievements of these heroes from the Black community with a connection to Brent.

Terry Jones

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Texas Ranger (Sharon Walker)

Texas Ranger grew up immersed in the sounds of jazz, soul, r&b, calypso, mento, ska, rocksteady and reggae — be it from the radio or hearing her dad and older brothers playing records. It was not long before she started collect

Thandiwe Newton

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The Cimarons

Most of the reggae acts living in Harlesden in the 60s and 70s formed in Jamaica, coming to London to tour and record. The Cimarons were the first act to get together in Britain and they met here in 1967. The band were Sonny Binns (keyboards), Locksley Gichie (guitar) Franklyn Dunn (vocals, bass), Lloyd ‘Jah Bunny’ Donaldson (musician), Carl Levy (keyboards) Maurice Ellis (vocals, drums ) and the singer Winston Reid. They worked as a backing band for many significant reggae acts. Their own albums ‘On the rock’ (1976) and 'Live' (1978) are considered some of British reggae’s finest moments.

Tony Philips

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Train workers, Willesden

Black presence in Brent increased enormously after World War II in 1945. The government realised Britain needed resources to rebuild the country after the war. It brought in the 1948 British Nationality Act, enabling residents of British Commonwealth countries to travel to the UK for work. Advertisements for many different jobs were placed to attract people to come to work in Britain. The HMT Empire Windrush ship set sail from Kingston, Jamaica on 24 May 1948, carrying people from Trinidad, Jamaica, Barbados and Bermuda. Many more from the Caribbean followed. They have become known in the United Kingdom as the ‘Windrush Generation’. Black people from other parts of the Commonwealth also travelled to the UK at this time.

Trevor Starr/Trevor Brown

Trevor arrived in Brent in 1971 at age 20. He was part of a contingent sent by the Jamaican government to promote reggae music in the UK. Signed to Trojan Records, he has played with many reggae legends including Jimmy Cliff, Desmond Dekker, Dave and Ansell Collins and the legendary Bob Marley.

Trojan

Trojan Records was founded in Kilburn in 1968 and later operated from a nowdemolished warehouse called Music House on Neasden Lane. During its heyday in the late 60s and 70s Trojan popularised ska, rocksteady, reggae and other forms of Jamaican music. In 1970 alone, Trojan released 500 records. The music connected the Windrush Generation with Jamaica, and gave numerous new subcultures across the UK a soundtrack. The popularisation of Trojan’s music owed much to the budget-price Tighten Up compilation series which was available in high street shops across the country. Trojan’s ska releases became the music of the original skinheads, and reflected an intermingling of jamaican rude boy culture with white working class subcultures in British cities. Last year, a documentary was released to mark the 50th anniversary of the label.