Bob Marley Musical: Not Marley Mia!???

Actor-playwright Kwame Kwei-Armah - whose play Elmina's Kitchen two years ago became the first play written by a black Briton to transfer to the West End (See News, 17 Mar 2005) - has been signed up to provide the book for the long-planned reggae musical based on the greatest hits of the late Jamaican singer-songwriter Bob Marley (See The Goss, 8 Nov 2004). Originally due for a 2006 premiere, the musical is being driven by Grease producer and LiveNation supremo David Ian, who’s been working on it with Chris Blackwell, the founder of Marley’s label, Island Records.

Marley, a committed Rastafarian, died in 1981 after a battle with cancer during which he refused medical treatment because of his religious beliefs. From the early 1960s, he and his band The Wailers released a steady stream of hits, including “I Shot the Sheriff”, “No Woman No Cry”, “Jamming”, “Buffalo Soldier”, “One Love”, “Stir It Up” and “Waiting in Vain”. The 1992 posthumous retrospective album, Songs of Freedom, containing 78 songs, has helped to propel Marley into the league of one of the largest-selling recording artists of all time. His legacy continues to live on through the modern band, The Melody Makers, which is fronted by his London-based son, Ziggy Marley.

The musical hasn’t yet got a title, but speaking to Whatsonstage.com at this week’s opening night party for Grease (See 1st Night Photos, 9 Aug 2007), David Ian joked that it wouldn’t be called Marley Mia!, à la the Abba blockbuster that has spawned all such compilation musicals in its wake.

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