The Story of Trojan Records

Laurence Cane-Honeysett

The definitive official history of the iconic record label

‘A beautiful book’ Robert Elms

Trojan was founded in 1968, as part of a deal with Island Records, its mission to bring Jamaican music to the world. Over the subsequent half-century it has done just that, releasing many of the defining albums of ska, rocksteady, dub and reggae from artists including The Upsetters, Jimmy Cliff, Desmond Dekker, The Maytals, Dennis Brown, John Holt, Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry and Bob Marley and the Wailers, as well as the hugely popular Tighten Up! compilations.

Written by journalist Laurence Cane-Honeysett, who has worked with Trojan Records across three decades, this is the definitive history of one of the most enduring labels in popular music. It contains hundreds of photographs, record sleeves, labels and archive material, much of it not seen for many years.

‘A beautiful book’ Robert Elms, BBC Radio London

‘It’s got lots of photographs, and reminiscences from tons of artists, but also a lot of history – the weaving of the social history of Britain into the story makes this a fascinating book’ Cerys Matthews, BBC Radio 6 Music

‘The wide-ranging, sometimes bonkers, always exciting story of a record label that played a huge part in announcing a black presence in Britain, and in doing so changed the nation forever’ The Guardian

‘A timely reminder of the music that sparked a cross-cultural revolution’ Daily Mirror

‘Celebrating the 50th anniversary of the legendary reggae label, this big, beautiful artefact combines artist biographies and interviews with wonderful evocative images, plus records sleeves, labels, ads and other archive material’ Uncut – Top 10 books of 2018

‘In all, this profusely illustrated coffee-table book is a marvellous tribute to the Trojan label, authored by somebody who has a real passion for the music and knows his stuff inside out’ Rhythm & Blues magazine

Hardback

Published: Eye (July 2018)

ISBN: 9781785630781