Creation of Tosh songs fascinate UWI audience

Mel Cooke, Gleaner Writer

This year's edition of the annual Peter Tosh symposium was entitled 'Peter Tosh: Activist, Protagonist and Musical Genius: One of Jamaica's Unsung Heroes'. On Wednesday evening, the final billed speaker, renowned tour manager Copeland Forbes, focused on the final quality - musical genius.

Speaking after Dr Clinton Hutton, Omar Davies and declaring himself a 'Doctor of Reggae', Forbes gave first-hand insight into the creation of some of the late singer and musician's songs, notably from the 1983 Mama Africa album.

The stories were sprinkled with mild versions of Tosh's liberally used Jamaican epithets, Forbes sometimes saying 'bongo clippings' or waving his right hand to substitute for the powerful fabric.

On a trip to Africa, they went to Benin and visited a bush doctor (Tosh also dubbed himself the 'Bush Doctor', the title of his 1978 album). Forbes said the man told Tosh that while some thought he was a madman he was a great, intelligent man. "But you have some poison in your head that you need to get out. Apart from that you are one of the most intelligent men on the earth," Forbes said the bush doctor told Tosh.

Forbes remarked how Tosh could store information, including his lyrics, before recording them, saying "that little head of his stored a lot of things". There was laughter when Forbes said Tosh would write a few words on a sheet of paper, then there would be a lot of space then another few words. When he asked Tosh about the approach, he replied that there were pirates around who would steal the lyrics.

On that Benin trip they went to the river, Tosh doing one of his favourite things, fishing, while Forbes went upriver. There, he saw a man defecating in the water and went back to tell Tosh to throw away all the fish he had caught. Tosh demanded to know why and Forbes carried him back to where the man was still relieving himself.

After a 'bongo clippings' from Tosh, Forbes said, he immediately came up with the lines:

"Africa is the richest place

But it has the poorest race

And to me it's just a disgrace

Just a disgrace"

"He kept singing that song as we were driving in the Range Rover," Forbes said, the song (Not Gonna Give it Up) ready by the time they got back to the bungalow where they were staying.

Glass House was written in the same period, Tosh remarking to Forbes "you know if you live in a glass house you can't throw stone?" Forbes said he replied "yeah, because people will see you and throw back". And Tosh wrote the song while a funeral was being held for someone elsewhere in the community.

The story of Crystal Ball, in which Tosh sings of destruction and social upheaval ("I see youths rising/Blood running/Fire burning") had the audience laughing in parts. It involved an apparently fraudulent mystic man in Nigeria who attempted to charge them 60,000 lira for him to look at their future through his crystal ball. At the time, Forbes said, he and Tosh had carried US$10,000 for their four-week trip.

Not a good day

As it was very expensive, they left, saying they were going to the record company's offices, but the man ran after them, urging that they return. They did and Forbes said the man left the room, then "came back with these three crystal balls that start spinning". Then, he said, "it is not good day to go to record company".

They went anyway and found the renowned musician they were looking for, King Sunny Ade, there. Ade dismissed the crystal ball man, demanding, at that price, "what is he going to do, make a human being?"

Still, Forbes said, "the crystal ball experience never left me". Three days later they were driving quickly on the highway, himself, Tosh and a driver in one vehicle in front and Ade in another following. At 180 kph, Forbes said, he heard a loud sound from underneath the van. "Peter say, 'Jah Jah!'," Forbes recalled.

Forbes' first thought was that they were under attack from snipers so when the van stopped he came out and ran into the bushes, bloody knees and all. Tosh came out and looked at the vehicle, then said, "remember what the crystal ball say? Explosion. See it ya".

It turned out that two tyres had blown out.

Forbes emphasised the depth of his feeling for the Mama Africa album, because he was close to its creation. "I was actually there. I saw how he composed the songs and how they came from experiences he had," Forbes said.

"I always liked to be around him, because I know a song going to come up."