Carnival Round-Up - UK 2019

London News Global Views

...The Notting Hill Carnival is rightly regarded as an institution in London. It’s the largest street party in Europe and second largest carnival in the world trailing only Rio de Janeiro. Over the coming Bank Holiday weekend it will once again come alive to the sound of steel bands, samba drums and the legendary sound systems that make it bounce. Yes, some local residents run for the hills to avoid the crowds, but music lovers from across the UK will be running for Notting Hill.

The Carnival’s biggest attraction has almost always been its sound systems. Yet, when the carnival first hit the streets in 1966 they were merely the unofficial sideshows courtesy of early Ladbroke Grove selectors “Duke Vin” and “Count Suckle”. And the rest is history.

Meanwhile,1966 was the same year that future carnival legend Gladdy Wax immigrated from Jamaica to Birmingham at the age of 14. Gladdy(or Gladwin as his mum calls him) grew up on the Midlands sound system scene with his brothers as part of Leisure Sound. Soon after, he was recruited to the city’s mightiest sound; Quaker City. He later swapped Brum for London to pursue his singing career, cutting records with fellow UK reggae legend Dennis Bovell...

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