Gift Letts

Don Letts is a Disc jockey, Director and musician English born the January 10th 1956. He was an influential actor of the movement London Punk , devoting to him as of 1978 filmed documentary. He also made discover with the white public of the punks groups programmed with the Roxy Club, the Dub and the Reggae jamaïcain.

Biography

He begins as salesman with Acme Attractions , a store of Kings Road competitor of the shop Sex of Vivienne Westwood and Malcolm McLaren. he diffuses there already with length of day of the Reggae and the Dub. When firm Acme Attractions , it did not join Boy his emanation more commercial but becomes business manager of the group The Slits taken along by Ari Up, future daughter-in-law of Johnny Rotten.

He will attend Bob Marley during his London fold, to which he will make discover the punk scene, which will inspire to him emblematic the Punky Reggae Party .

In 1978, its documentary film The Punk Rock'n'roll Movie illustrates the movement of the Punk rock'n'roll English of the origins. The same year, accompanied by Keith Levene and Jah Wobble future members of Public Image Limited (or " PIL"), it leaves a EP, Steel Leg vs the Electric Dread on which, it ensures the song while stigmatizing, ironic, the litany Rasta. Always the same year, he will discover Jamaica of his origins by accompanying John Lydon after his rupture with The Sex Pistols for a mission by recruiting agents by local talents on behalf of the recording company Virgin by Richard Branson.

Letts accompanies The Clash during their New Yorkean countryside period Sandinista , filming them on scene and discovering with them the Contre-culture Hip-hop of Grandmaster Flash with Futura 2000. It produces the clip of This Is Radio Clash which offers marvellous instantaneous universe incipient from the Rap, of the Tag and the Break dance in the south bronx.

Following his ousting of the Clash, the guitarist and type-setter Mick Jones found with him the group Big Audio Dynamites in 1984. After four albums, Don Letts breaks with Jones. It forms with other dissenting members of Big Audio Dynamites, a group called Screaming Target, a patronym chosen in homage to the DJ roots Big Youth. Screaming Target will publish in 1991 a single album entitled Hometown Hi-Fi at the company Island property of the magna of the disc Chris Blackwell. This album, dancant Miss in a coherent way Reggae, Dub, Funk, Techno and Rock'n'roll, Letts, poor singer, hold the microphone, sometimes constant by a Choriste with the voice Soul.

Its film left in 2003 Westway to the World , documentary devoted to… Clash, gains a Grammy award. This documentary turned in black and white, watch Joe Strummer still affected by the end of its group some time before its death. It also Co-carries out a fiction of Série B entitled One Love with Ky-Mani Marley, one of the wire naturalness of Bob Marley.

Letts animates also a Sound system called Dub Cartel in company of another ex- Big Audio Dynamites daN Donovan. Its sets of DJ/Selector are accompanied by the projection of images assembled by its care, giving of advantage of width to its selections. It is also close to the English collective Dread Zone where one finds members of Screaming Target , its name being credited on their album Sound as author.

The name of Letts is reproduced on musical compilations whose titles will have been selected by its care: Dread Meets Punk Rockers , Dread meets B-Servant boys and Gift Letts present: The Mighty Trojan Sound . In 2007, he testifies in the film " Future The is unwritten" , of Julian Temple, devoted to Joe Stummer, the singer of Clash.

Catalog of films

Rock'n'roll It To Rio : Franz Ferdinand (2006)
Bruise Dr.Funkenstein off: George Clinton (2006)
The Making off All MOD Idiots : The Jam (2006)
Brother From Another Planet : Sun Ra (2005)
The Revolution Will Not Be Televised (Gil Scott-Heron) 2005
The Right Spectacle: The Very Best off Elvis Costello - The Videos (2005) (video)
Punk : Attitude (2005) (documentary)
Making off “London Calling”: The Last Will (2004) (video)
One Coils (2003)
The Essential Clash (2003) (video)
The Pretenders: Greatest Hits (2000) (V) (video " Back one the Chain Gang")
The Clash: Westway to the World (2000) (video)
Dancehall Queen (1997)
Dance hall in the Streets: Planet Rock'n'roll (1997) (documentary)
Pretenders: The Individual (1988) (video) (" Back one the Chain Gang")
Punk The Rock'n'roll Movie (1978)

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