I definitely remember Bob Marley dying. I would have been ten years old, and the line about "the first third world superstar," resonated with me. I knew what "the third world" meant - poor people - and we collected milk bottle tops and sent them in to Blue Peter appeals in the hope that some sort of solution could be found. The idea of a poor person being a superstar seemed quite alien to me. I hear echoes in concepts like the Homeless King in Under the Silver Lake, or the King of the Slums.

Reggae at this time was a concept universally disdained. Apart from "good reggae," by which people in Edinburgh almost always seemed to mean UB40. Red, Red Wine was the first hit of theirs I remember, and I didn't much care for it. Over the years there were repeated assertions that reggae was going to be "in," "big," "hip," etc, and it never really happened, albeit many people along the way ended up liking reggae or versions thereof - dub plates, Arkology, drum and bass. Never really Bob though.

The big moment for me was Cape Town in 1983. I think this must have been when Legend came out, and Buffalo Soldier had been released as a single to promote it. (Just checked and it was actually on "Confrontation."). The song was everywhere, and me and my brother would sing it in the back of the car while my Uncle Dan drove us around. It played when we were on our way to the airport to drive back, and Dan said he would always think of us when he heard the song. It was an emotional moment.

In high school, I read the Chris Salewicz biography, the whole story from birth through to the freak football accident that led to his calendar. It was a sad story but also one with incredible dignity, an inspiring journey from rags to riches. It also underlined the politics that infused his music, something that seems to get lost amongst the midnight toker stereotypes.

For such a complicated, meaningful genre, it strikes me that reggae has had a very poor rep over the years.