Annual Peter Tosh Symposium for UWI October 19

The annual Peter Tosh Symposium takes place on October 19 at the Multi-Functional Lecture Room on the Mona campus of The University of the West Indies from 5 to 8 p.m.

This year’s event, which coincides with the 79th anniversary of Peter Tosh’s birthday, will feature three notable speakers, Nadine Sutherland, one of Jamaica’s female reggae luminaries; Dr Dennis Howard, musicologist; and Wayne Jobson, the director of the Peter-Tosh documentary, Stepping Razor –X.

Nadine Sutherland will be speaking on her personal association with Tosh, particularly during the period of the mid-1980s when he recruited her as one of his background vocalists for his No Nuclear War album, along with other notable female reggae luminaries such as Pam Hall and J C Lodge. She is to shed some light on Tosh’s softer, more compassionate side, as well as his strong sense of humour. Dr Dennis Howard will be expounding on the militant and revolutionary side of Tosh’s multi-faceted persona, while Wayne Jobson, will focus on the assassination of Peter Tosh on September 11, 1987. He will be sharing his perspective on Leppo’s key motivations for assassinating Peter.

The event will also include performances from roots reggae artiste Historyman, who has a scintillating biographical reggae song on Tosh.

This event is free and is open to all members of the public.

Winston Hubert McIntosh, better known as Peter Tosh, was one of the core members of the Wailers band, along with Bob Marley and Bunny Wailer. He subsequently established himself as a successful solo artiste and a promoter of Rastafari. He was murdered in 1987 during a home invasion.

Tosh was born in Westmoreland, but later moved to Trench Town in Kingston. He first learned guitar after watching a man in the country play a song that captivated him. He watched the man play the same song for half a day, memorising everything his fingers were doing. He then picked up the guitar and played the song back to the man. The man then asked McIntosh who had taught him to play; McIntosh told him that he had.

ASPIRING MUSICIAN

During the early 1960s, as an aspiring musician, Tosh went to vocal teacher Joe Higgs, who gave free music lessons to young people. Through his contact with Higgs, Tosh met Bob Marley and Bunny Wailer. He then changed his name to Peter Tosh and the trio started singing together in 1962.

By 1964, Tosh, Marley, and Bunny had formed the Wailing Wailers, and they had a major ska hit with their first single, Simmer Down.

On September 11, 1987, just after Tosh had returned to his home in Jamaica, a three-man gang came to his house on motorcycles demanding money, but Tosh replied that he did not have any with him. They stayed at his residence for several hours and tortured Tosh in an attempt to extort money. Over the hours, as various associates of Tosh arrived to visit him, they were also taken hostage by the gunmen. The gunmen became more and more frustrated, especially Dennis ‘Leppo’ Lobban, a man whom Tosh had previously befriended and tried to help find work after a long jail sentence.

Tosh said he did not have any money in the house, after which Lobban and the fellow gunmen began opening fire in a reckless manner. Tosh was shot twice in the head and killed. Herbalist Wilton ‘Doc’ Brown and disc jockey Jeff ‘Free I’ Dixon also died as a result of wounds sustained during the robbery. Several others in the house were wounded, including Tosh’s common-law wife, Andrea Marlene Brown; Free I’s wife, Yvonne (Joy); Tosh’s drummer Carlton ‘Santa’ Davis, and musician Michael Robinson.

The then Police Commissioner Herman Ricketts reported that Dennis ‘Leppo’ Lobban surrendered and two other men were interrogated, but not publicly named. Lobban went on to plea innocent during his trial, telling the court he had been drinking with friends. The trial was held in a closed court due to the involvement of illegal firearms. Lobban was ultimately found guilty by a jury of eight women and four men and sentenced to death by hanging. His sentence was commuted in 1995.