Music - Reggae Night

In the late seventies there was a fortnightly event in the back bar of the Concorde just opposite the Palace Pier called the Afro Club. It was a dance-orientated reggae and soul night. Lewes-based Deri Strong was a regular there. “They used to play half an hour of reggae followed by half an hour of soul,” he says. “It was brilliant. It’s long closed down, but I still miss it.” Deri reckons that Lewes gets a lot of live music, to suit all tastes, but lacks a regular dance event. So he has endeavoured to revive the spirit of the Afro Club - upstairs at the Royal Oak on Station Street. This week witnesses the first edition of the event, with more on the horizon if it’s a success. “If enough interest is shown,” says Deri, “it’s intended to vary the venues to accommodate bigger events with more DJ’s, bands, and even an all-dayer with stalls selling Carribean food, t-shirts and other reggae and soul merchandise.”

Back to Saturday night, however, and the first gig. “I’ve asked DJ Stacey, who is the landlord of the Jamaica Inn in Brighton, to DJ,” says Deri. “He’ll do a mixture of stuff. It’s not going to be all Bob Marley - far from it. There will be a mix of classic and modern reggae with some soul classics thrown in. Not disco soul - stuff like Marvin Gaye and Al Green and Atlantic Records soul.” DL