Max Romeo ADD
MAX ROMEO - A SHORT STORY OF REGGAE
THE MARK OF GHETTO
Max Romeo, born Maxie Smith, grown in Saint Ann parish in the nice country side of Jamaica but he was still young when he reached Kingston and especially Trenchtown in the Sixties where he met Bob Marley, Toots Hibberts and Peter Tosh. In this tough but joyful atmosphere Max had his first musical experience and wrote his first songs inspired by poverty and inequity like “Rudeboy Confession” or “Buy Me A Rainbow”. But in 1969 “Wet Dream” became his first international hit and reached British top 10. Unfortunately the song has been banned from radio stations because of the lyrics, “shocking said the Old Lady” but Max career just started !
SOCIAL AND POLITICAL COMMITMENT
In the early 70’s Max started to write more political songs like “Let The Power Fall On I” which will be used as PNP anthem for the elections when Michael Manley became the first socialist Prime Minister in 1972. In the same time he worked with several producers, Niney The Observer, Clive Hunt and above all the great Lee “Scratch” Perry who released two of his best albums, “Revelation Time” in 1975 and of course the phenomenal “War Inna Babylon” in 1976 including the famous songs composed with Lee Perry like “War Inna Babylon”, “One Step Forward” or “Chase The Devil”. Max Romeo became a master piece of Reggae music. Disappointed by the few result of Michael Manley government for poor people and the level of violence in Jamaica, Max decided to live in New York but even more disappointed by Babylon he came back a few years after, staying however away from music business for a while.
A MAN FULL OF SIMPLE VALUES
At that time Max was taking care of his farm, staying away from the noise of the big city, and his agricultural production is enough to feed his family so he could live simply in happiness. In the early 90’s he has accepted the invitation of several European promoters and started to tour again to please his fans but also for his own satisfaction. Actually if Max is discreet, and even seems shy sometimes, what he really like the most is to share with people. Share his message, share his ideas, and music is the best way for this giving joy in the same time. At the beginning of this century he has also restarted to release a couple of albums, “Perilous Times” “A Little Time For Jah” “Horror Zone” or “Words From The Brave” to mention a few.
A RICH MUSICAL LEGACY
At 78 years young Max Romeo has decided to retire from music business and will do a 50 shows farewell tour in Europe in April-May 2023 including the release of an album with new songs and some classics revisited with collaboration of several artists ready to show respect to the living Reggae legend Max Romeo. Some famous artists did it already in certain ways like Jay-Z who sampled “Chase The Devil” but what is a real satisfaction for Max is the musical legacy he’s going to pass on to his children Azizzi and Xana Romeo who will be a part of this Ultimate Tour !
