In August, it will be 50 years since Jamaica gained Independence from Britain. Today, the Jamaica Observer’s Entertainment section reflects on the influence Jamaican pop culture has had on that country in REGGAE BRITANNIA, a weekly feature leading up to the Golden Jubilee in August.

IN 1973 the impact of Jamaican music in the United Kingdom was palpable. Artistes including Millie Small, Desmond Dekker and Count Prince Miller were established.

However, it was director Perry Henzell’s film The Harder They Come, that changed the way Britons viewed Jamaican culture.

At the forefront of the film’s promotion was Barbara Blake-Hannah.

Blake-Hannah, who was then living in London, was brought in as publicist to promote the 1972 film in Jamaica. And, based on its success, the following year efforts were made to take the film to the world.

“We took the film to the Cork Island Film Festival and the Venice Film Festival where it won Best Soundtrack. This gave us the drive to take it to the UK,” Blake-Hannah remembers.

The soundtrack includes the title song You Can Get It (If You Really Want) and Sitting In Limbo performed by the film’s star Jimmy Cliff; Pressure Drop by Toots and The Maytals; and, By The Rivers of Babylon by The Melodians.

The Brixton Cinema in the heart of London’s black community was chosen as the venue for the screenings of the flick.

Blake-Hannah recalls the huge appeal the film had during the screenings, noting that it was a mini version of the mayhem which unfolded at the Jamaica premiere at The Carib in Jamaica months prior, when thousands crammed the Cross Roads cinema on opening night.

“For us Jamaicans in the UK, having heard the music for years, we now had an opportunity to see our culture on screen, and for many it was an interesting side of Jamaica which had never been captured on film. We had seen the ‘island in the sun’ treatment, but the eye-opener were the real images of Jamaica — the film’s hero getting off the bus in Parade, scenes with Rastas smoking — gave birth to Jamaica’s culture as a global phenomenon,” she asserts, adding, “it made many like me just get on the next plane and come back home.”

The film’s powerful soundtrack also featured Desmond Dekker, Derrick Harriott and The Slickers.

Blake-Hannah notes: “I clearly remember my secretary asking me to translate the words of Desmond Dekker’s 007 (Shanty Town), as she loved the track even though she could not understand the lyrics.”

Blake-Hannah is the force behind the Reggae Film festival to be staged in Jamaica from April 16-22. Among the films being screened this year is Showtime, which examines the dub music scene in the UK and the influence of Jamaican reggae and dancehall music on this genre.

She gives full credit to The Harder They Come for opening the doors of the world to Jamaican music and film.

“This is our flagship film and it is worthy of all praise,” she says.

A stage version of The Harder They Come had a successful run in London’s east end four years ago.