Don Letts is taking over the Garden Room on the 11th May!
Inspired my recent Late Night Tales ‘Version Excursion’ compilation my set will feature a laid back bass heavy take on the tradition of the Jamaican cover version…
Don Letts’ reputation has been firmly established in both the film and music world by a substantial body of work from the late 70s through the 80s, 90s, and well into the millennium. His work has been exhibited in The Kitchen N.Y.C, The Institute of Contemporary Art, and The N.F.T in London and was honored at Brooklyn’s BAM festival and The Milan Film festival. In March 2003 he won a Grammy for his documentary ‘Westway To The World’.
He came to notoriety in the late 70s as the DJ that single-handedly turned a whole generation of punks onto reggae. It was whilst as a DJ at the first punk club ‘The Roxy’ in 1977, that Don adopted the punk D.I.Y ethic and began to make his first film ‘The Punk Rock Movie’. Shot on Super-8mm it is the only documentary on the U.K. punk scene w/ Sex Pistols-The Clash and many others. This led to a period of directing over 300 music videos for an eclectic mix of diverse artists ranging from Public Image to Bob Marley. He then moved into documentary work covering the likes of Gil Scot-Heron, The Jam, Sun Ra, George Clinton, and most recently Paul McCartney. Dancehall Queen (co-directed by Rick Elgood) shot in location in Jamaica in 1997 was his first feature film.
At the end of 2007, Don presented ‘Speakers Corner’ in conjunction with the British Arts Council. Featuring several spoken word artists, poets, and rappers with a musical band in a theatrical setting. The event toured the UK in November-December and was a contemporary response to the 200th anniversary of the abolition of the British slave trade.
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