Steel Pulse added to Island Life concert festival

Birmingham Reggae legends Steel Pulse have been confirmed for the line-up of the previously announced Island Life concert festival at London's Shepherds Bush Empire, which celebrates 50 years of Island Records. Steel Pulse will play on Wednesday 27th May with The Fratellis and Bombay Bicycle Club.

Formed in '75 Steel Pulse signed to Island at the height of the punk wars in late '77. The first Steel Pulse single for Island, 'Ku Klux Klan' (a call for resistance against forces of racism) was released in February 1978. Five months later, their debut album 'Handsworth Revolution' was released to huge critical acclaim. They went on to support Bob Marley & The Wailers on a European tour in June and July '78 and were a crucial part of the punky reggae party Bob Marley sang about as they aligned themselves with the punk movement and played several Rock Against Racism shows with artists such as the Stranglers and XTC and memorably at The Clash RAR show in Victoria Park with Xray Spex and the Tom Robinson Band. They released two more groundbreaking albums for Island - 'Tribute To The Martyrs' in '79 and 'Reggae Fever (Caught You)' in '80.

The 'Island Life' line-up confirmed so far is as follows [NB There are no headliners at these shows; every act appears with equal billing]:

26th May – SLY & ROBBIE & THE COMPASS POINT ALLSTARS featuring VERY SPECIAL GUESTS;
27th May – THE FRATELLIS; STEEL PULSE; BOMBAY BICYCLE CLUB;
28th May – CAT STEVENS/YUSUF and friends, BAABA MAAL
29th May – PAUL WELLER; ERNEST RANGLIN; SPOOKY TOOTH
30th May – KEANE; TOM TOM CLUB; LADYHAWKE
31st May – AMY WINEHOUSE; TOOTS & THE MAYTALS; I BLAME COCO

2009 is the 50th anniversary of the founding of Island Records, arguably the most prestigious record label in the history of British music.

www.islandrecords.co.uk
www.island50.com