Dancehall - The Story Of Jamaican Dancehall Culture - Beth Lesser - Soul Jazz - 218pp £19.99

Reggae Quarterly was published eight times from 1981 to 1988. In that time Dave and Beth Kingston captured exactly what was going on in reggae music. Every edition was like an event! People loved RQ - and Augustus Pablo told me that Dave and Beth were loved in Jamaica. RQ covered reggae music not just dancehall. Roy Shirley gave them a great interview, Burning Spear did, and of course Augustus Pablo.

Of course the driving force in reggae music in the eighties was 'Dancehall' and its this aspect that is best remembered from those editions of RQ. Dancehall was viewed as some kind of sickness back then. A fever that would pass. Well it didn't pass. Next year 2009 will make its 30th Birthday!!!! And its this aspect of the book that interests me the most.

Dave and Beth got it so right in those eight editions - could Beth sum up dancehall today. Reggae music is today on its knees. Some would say in ICU. And a lot of these problems can be traced all the way back to 1988/89 It was around then that the sound system - the engine that had powered reggae music from the start - changed. The deejays were replaced by dubplates or so called specials.

On page 180 of this massive book in a chapter called 'The Decline And Fall Of Dancehall' its all explained. by Beth. Quotes from all the leading figures are here. My favourite is from Big Jack Scorpio - while my good friend Dennis Alcapone also makes the same point.

Anyway this is a book that celebrates reggae music its huge - the nearly the size of a LP. Its packed with photos in full colour. And its a great work. Congratulations to all concerned.