Scandal in a Brixton Market

As the sixties came to a close, Laurel Aitken was firmly established as Britian s favourite Jamaican performer, enormously popular with members of both the country s West Indian ex-pat communities and its rapidly growing Reggae-loving Skinhead population. Unsurprisingly, competition to gain rights to his works among the country s leading Jamaican music companies was fierce and often bitter, so when, early in 69, Pama Records acquired his signature, the achievement was rightly regarded as a major coup by the London-based operation. Over the weeks that immediately followed, Laurel duly provided Pama with a number of best-selling singles, and while single artist compilations by Jamaican artists were still considered a rarity, such was the demand for the singer s music the company wasted little time in issuing a long-playing collection: Scandal In Brixton Market . Featuring a handful of previously released sides along with seven recordings exclusive to the collection, the LP also featured guest appearances from two of the UK s most popular Jamaican acts, Girlie and celebrated trombonist, Rico Rodriquez. A must-have collection for all Reggae fans, Scandal In Brixton Market quickly sold out at stores the length and breadth of the country, and over the years that have followed it has become increasingly scarce. It is therefore with great pleasure that some 40 years after its original release, Pressure Drop are able to present the album in its entirety, its dozen tracks augmented by an additional 13 from Laurel s sojourn at Pama and local rivals, Bamboo.