Museum guides don’t usually burst into song when giving a tour, but that’s what happens when I visit Bob Marley’s former home in Jamaica’s capital, Kingston.
‘No woman… No cry…’ Oneika Young, 24, sings passionately, reminding visitors of one of the reggae star’s best-known hits.
Next to me, in what is now the Bob Marley Museum, is a fascinating parade of memorabilia, from tour posters and stage props to his denim-covered bed and the Land Rover, customized with red, gold and green striped seats, that the singer led. .
These details flesh out a soulful artist who rose from rural poverty to become a superstar, playing to crowds of more than 100,000. Tragically, it all ended abruptly when Marley died of cancer in 1981, at the age of 36, leaving behind excellent music that is as popular as ever.
The late singer currently has more than eight million followers on Instagram and is back in the spotlight with the release of biopic Bob Marley: One Love, which hits UK cinemas on Wednesday.
Jammin’: A new Bob Marley biopic features ‘sexy’ shots of the star’s home country of Jamaica. Above is the coastal town of Ocho Rios, where some Bob Marley tours depart from.
Above, Kingsley Ben-Adir as Marley and Lashana Lynch as his wife in Bob Marley: One Love
His eldest son, Ziggy, also a major reggae artist, says audiences can expect an exploration of “his pain, his sorrows, his joys and his redemption.”
With its alluring shots of Jamaica’s beaches, waterfalls and mountains, the film will no doubt encourage us to visit Marley’s charismatic homeland. The island has long been popular with UK travelers and aims to attract a record 250,000 people annually by 2025.
Stretching 146 miles, Jamaica offers plenty to enjoy, from spicy dishes prepared at roadside barbecues to visits to coffee plantations in the lofty Blue Mountains and sunset parties on Negril’s Seven Mile Beach. But it is Bob Marley who remains Jamaica’s most famous export. Here’s how to pay tribute.
WHERE EVERYTHING BEGAN…
In the village of Nine Mile, visitors can tour the two-bedroom house where Marley grew up (pictured).
The town of Nine Mile, a 90-minute drive east of Montego Bay, is where Bob Marley was born in 1945 and is a popular excursion from the resorts that line Jamaica’s northern coast.
His parents were Norval Marley, a 60-year-old white plantation overseer, and 17-year-old Cedella Malcolm (they later married when she was 18), who moved to Kingston when their son was 12.
Tours of the shrine-like complex begin with their house and then ascend to Mount Zion, where there is a small Ethiopian Orthodox church and the rudimentary two-room house where Marley was raised, plus a marble mausoleum where they are laid to rest. Bob and Cedella. . A five-hour group tour from Ocho Rios costs from £93 per person, including lunch (islandroutes.com).
BOB MARLEY’S MUSEUM
Above, the Bob Marley Museum in Kingston
56 Hope Road is a rambling 19th-century mansion in uptown Kingston, where Bob Marley lived from 1973 surrounded by other musicians and Rastafarians. Highlights are the wood-paneled studio where hits like Buffalo Soldier were recorded, along with bullet holes left after a 1976 assassination attempt.
For the richest experience, book a combined tour including the atmospheric Tuff Gong Recording Studios, just a short drive away, where you can see rehearsal rooms and vinyl record pressing machines (guided tours from £20, bobmarleymuseum.com).
STRAWBERRY HILL
Owned by Chris Blackwell, the Jamaican record producer who brought Bob Marley and The Wailers to global attention, this luxury wood-built hotel sits at 3,100 feet in the majestic Blue Mountains, an hour’s drive northeast of Kingston.
Music fans can visit a Golden Room filled with awards from Blackwell’s label, Island Records, including several from Marley and his band.
Located in the Blue Mountains, the Strawberry Hill Hotel (pictured) is owned by Chris Blackwell, the record producer who shaped Marley’s music career.
Guests stay in all-white cabins, including one that references the star’s nickname, ‘Tuff Gong.’ Double rooms from £438, B&B (hotelfresahill.com).
THE TEENAGE YEARS
Marley first visited the United States at age 17 when his mother went to live in Wilmington, Delaware. He worked as a waiter, a laboratory assistant and at the Chrysler automobile assembly factory in nearby Newark.
His time as a forklift driver is mentioned in the song Night Shift and the American city celebrates this connection with an annual People’s Festival, now in its 30th year (August 31, 2019). gentefestival.com).
CLOSER TO HOME
Marley visited the UK several times in the 1970s and the film One Love includes scenes filmed in London. A blue English Heritage plaque marks the singer’s home at 42 Oakley Street, Chelsea, where he lived while recording the Exodus album. Blue Badge tour guide Chris Van Hayden offers private tours of partner sites, from £288 for two hours (chrisvanhaydentours.uk).