Lovers Rock Mural
Lovers Rock was a record label based in Upper Brockley Road, New Cross during the late 1970s. One of the many reasons this label is of particular cultural importance is that it gave birth to, as well as gave its name to the first British Afro-Caribbean music genre to grow out of the UK.
An offshoot of Reggae, Lovers Rock with its overwhelmingly uplifting message of love, positivity and unity was produced during a time when racial tension in London was rife and the National Front were on the march. These tensions culminated in the 1977 Battle of Lewisham which took place in the shadow of the Lovers Rock studio. Although lovers rock was considered an apolitical genre at the time, in hindsight its very existence seems all the more salient, providing a soundtrack of joyful defiance to young black Britons during a particularly tumultuous period of racial injustice.
Lovers Rock was particularly popular with women as it offered an antidote to the male-dominated space of Jamaican roots reggae.
The studio was opened and run by Barbados born Dennis Bovell (main picture) who also produced many Lovers Rock hits and also went on to work with many non Reggae artists such as The Slits, Dexy’s Midnight Runners, The Pop Group, Fela Kuti, Orange Juice and Madness.
In 2021 Bovell was appointed a member of the British Empire for services to music.
Though a primarily underground phenomenon, lover’s rock was a major influence on pop acts such as The Police, Culture Club and Sade and more recently Lilly Allen. Seminal punk/rock/ska/reggae crossover band The Clash went on to popularise the term, introducing it to a wider mainstream audience, by including the song “Lover’s Rock” on their 1979 LP, London Calling.