1970’s Lovers Rock Exhibition - Exhibition, Talk, Screening

1970’s Lovers Rock Exhibition - An exhibition that aims to dispel some of the prevailing Lovers Rock history.

1970’s Lovers Rock Exhibition is the first exhibition to focus on the 1970s heady days of the reggae genre’s history. It’s curated by CeeBee Multimedia a.k.a Colin Brown, who is a Chaaawaaa Radio presenter, Reggae Fraternity UK executive and key supporter of International Reggae Day UK.

Disenchanted by much of what he saw as prevalent but apocryphal histories of Lovers Rock, often written by journalists and historians from outside the reggae and British African community, Brown decided to redress the situation.

This meant years of delving into histories and biographies, acquiring hard-to-find records, speaking to artists, producers, journalists and reggae specialists to find more information, acquire artefacts, and corroborate information.

The exhibition will highlight both artists and bands who have so often been overlooked, and the most successful artists of the period, like Janet Kay of ‘Silly Games’ fame.

The 1970's Lovers Rock UK Exhibition is the first ever to focus on the foundation years of the genre. Artists and bands who have so often been overlooked are highlighted and the most successful artists of the period like Janet Kay (Silly Games) are celebrated.

A serious attempt is made to establish the chronology of when UK based reggae artists and bands released their first Lovers Rock song. The exhibition charts the evolution from a Jamaican sound to a distinctively British sound, from Romantic Reggae to UK Lovers Rock.

Lovers Rock is a style of reggae music noted for its romantic sound and content. While love songs had been an important part of reggae since the late 1960s, the style was given a greater focus and a name in London in the mid-1970s.

The roots of lovers' rock lies in the last days of the rocksteady era and early days of reggae, with Jamaican and American singers such as Ken Boothe, Johnny Nash and John Holt enjoying international hits with versions of well-known love songs.

February is Reggae Month, a month-long celebration of reggae music that takes place in Jamaica and around the world.

The event will be hosted in conjunction with UK Reggae History and will feature their ‘Lovers Rock’ exhibition, as well as an in depth talk and Q&A with Colin Brown.

Timetable:

14:00 Exhibition Opens

18:00 Presentation on The History of Lovers Rock by Colin Brown

20:00 Film Screening

THIS EVENT IS NOT TO BE MISSED

This event will take place on Sunday 8 February 2026 from 14:00 to 21:00 GMT at The Black Cultural Centre Islington, 16–18 Hornsey Road, London, N7 7BT. Nearest tube station is Holloway Road (Piccadilly Line).

Food and drinks will be on sale.

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Host or Publisher Black History Studies