TRIBUTE 2 TROJAN 

Carl in his early years as a DJ worked closely with TROJAN Records. Promoting the new style of music to the working class white clubbers. The traditional Jamaican music from the previous decade fell on deaf ears when it came to exposure on the radio.

 

Most UK families were exposed to the Lance Percival fun Calypso tunes that he sang on the TV program That Was the Week That Was, which charted.

 

Most Mods had become aware of the Ska and Bluebeat from the early 60's however, the mass market was ripe for the steady rhythm of the Rocksteady and then the driving beat of Reggae.

 

Carl was the DJ at a number of large London venues where he introduced the music of Trojan, at first the management restricted the number he could play a night. Increased demand from the clubbers finally convinced the management, and promoters that they should start to book the artists that the clubbers were becoming aware of.

 

Carl was responsible for over 200 such bookings, and accompanied the artist when he was available.

 

Success with The Trojan Promotion Show, a concept which Carl had introduced to Trojan's Lee Gopthal and Chris; that it would be a great marketing tool for some of the artists to appear to do short interview appearances with Carl, and then to mime, or sing to their latest release

 

There were 5 such shows in the London area and 1 in the Bedfordshire area, before there was a change of ownership at the Trojan Record Company.

 

Carl continued to develop a following and started the The Reggae Package Show, where he included other record company's releases and introduced artists that were in the UK and about to tour.

 

The shows increased sales of the records as Carl had visited surrounding record retailers with pre-release material and boxes of records on sale or return, many of the shops were able to get into the demand early and made money from the working relationship Carl had developed.

 

Sales of singles initially were limited to Carl and other DJ's efforts as the minimal radio exposure made it a club only demand. The introduction of the the budget range LP  (Tighten UP vol 1 & subsequent follow on albumns)  increased demand for the singles. During 1969 to 1971 so many releases were available to a market that it was virtually impossible for any one reggae fan to buy all of the releases. When the music hit the mass market due to increasing radio exposure the hits followed each other, finally after a couple of years of undertone demand the radio exposure was given this genre it's true position as a creditable source of music for the entire record buying public.

 

Carl continues his relationship with Trojan, albeit under new ownership, and has offered to contribute his time and experiences to a new book that is currently being penned..