Reggae statesman and the firebrand: When Jimmy Cliff toured with Peter Tosh
Observer Online presents the seventh and final story in ‘Jimmy Cliff: Stories Of A Bongo Man’, in tribute to the reggae legend who died on November 24 at age 81. This seven-part series looks at different aspects of the singer-songwriter’s life.
It is not often that two reggae superstars tour together. Certainly not polar opposites like Jimmy Cliff and Peter Tosh, but the two artistes hit the road during the summer of 1982 for shows in the United States (US) and Canada.
Tosh — who had recently completed work on his Mama Africa album — headlined the two-month trek. Cliff was promoting his album, Special, released by Columbia Records in early 1982.
The tour was organised by Copeland Forbes, who was involved with both artistes in a management capacity.
“The co-headlined tour we did in 1982 with Jimmy Cliff and Peter Tosh was one of the best tours I’ve ever organised in my over 60 years in the entertainment fraternity. Critics said it could never happen, the fact that one artiste is a Rastafarian (Tosh) and the other, a Muslim by faith,” Forbes told Observer Online. “The critics were proven wrong as the tour went on for over two months, selling out venues across the US and Canada.”
Their contrasting personalities was the main reason for the sceptics’ gloomy outlook. Tosh was a firebrand who called out the system on songs like Legalize It, Equal Rights and Get Up, Stand Up; he was also an advocate for the legalisation of ganja, a stance that got him in trouble with the law.
Cliff, the former teen star, was the face of reggae since the early 1970s. His starring role in the 1972 movie, The Harder They Come, plus radio-friendly songs such as Wonderful World, Beautiful People, Sitting In Limbo and Many Rivers To Cross, made him a superstar.
Forbes acknowledged there were problems prior to the tour. Who would take the stage first was an issue, with Tosh refusing to go on first.
However, Cliff had no problem opening the shows, and the tour kicked off on August 12 at Mesa Community Center Amphitheater in Mesa, Arizona.
Tosh and Cliff did approximately 28 dates together. They made stops in major areas including Los Angeles and San Francisco, California; British Columbia, Edmonton, Calgary and Saskatoon in Canada; Chicago, Minneapolis, Kansas City, Philadelphia, Boston, Fort Lauderdale and Miami.
In November 1982, Tosh and Cliff performed at the World Music Festival in Montego Bay. They also appeared on Bunny Wailer’s Youth Consciousness Festival in Kingston one month later.
Mama Africa was released by EMI Africa in 1983. As part of its promotion, Tosh opened a handful of shows for The Police on their Synchronicity tour.
He was murdered by gunmen at his St Andrew home in September 1987 at age 42.
Jimmy Cliff, a two-time Grammy winner and Rock And Roll Hall of Fame inductee, died on November 24 at age 81. He will be given an official funeral by the Jamaican government on December 17.
