Rating: NNN
A natural follow-up to Honest Jon’s excellent document of British calypso in the 50s, Watch How The People Dancing shines the spotlight on the still thriving UK dancehall culture. In the scene’s heyday in the mid-80s, when deejays like Trinity and selectors like Jah Shaka could draw thousands of people to sheds for Jamaican-style throwdowns, the Unity label was the dub vendor of choice. This collection of Unity singles documents British dancehall’s becoming the true successor of the original Jamaican scene, with deejays like Selah Collins, Mike Murka and Kenny Knots building their own digi-dub classics around the Ring The Alarm rhythm. The familiar dancehall themes of guns flashing and rival sounds falling are all there, but it’s the beats that fill the floor.
