Linton Kwesi Johnson was born on 24 August 1952 in Chapelton, Clarendon in rural Jamaica. He came to London in 1963, went to Tulse Hill Secondary School and studied Sociology at Goldsmiths’ College, University of London. Whilst at school he joined the Black Panthers, helped to organise a poetry workshop within the movement and developed his work with Rasta Love, a group of poets and drummers. In 1977 he was awarded a C Day Lewis Fellowship, becoming the writer-in-residence for the London Borough of Lambeth for that year. He went on to work as the Library Resources and Education Officer at the Keskidee Centre, the first home of black theatre and art.

In 1974 Race Today published his first poetry collection, Voices of the Living and the Dead. Dread Beat An’ Blood was published in 1975 by Bogle-L’Ouverture and was also the title of his first LP released by Virgin (1978). That year also saw the release of the film Dread Beat An’ Blood, a documentary on Johnson’s work. In 1980 Race Today published Inglan Is A Bitch and there were four more albums with Island: Forces of Victory (1979), Bass Culture (1980), LKJ in Dub (1981) and Making History (1983).

Born in Barbados in 1953, Dennis Bovell is an accomplished multi-instrumentalist, sound-engineer, composer, bandleader and producer. He came to London when he was twelve and has been in bands since his schooldays. He formed Matumbi in 1970, whose songs include the top ten hit Point of View, and produced Janet Kay's huge single, Silly Games. He has worked with artists as diverse as I Roy, Steel Pulse, Bananarama, Fela Kuti and Ryuichi Sakamoto. Dennis continues to release his own music.

Paul Gilroy teaches at University College London (UCL). He has published several books and has been writing about black music for more than fifty years.

Of English-Nigerian heritage, John Kpiaye was born in 1948 in London. In 1968, his group The Cats was the first British reggae group to have a top fifty entry in the singles chart. He has written, produced and played on numerous reggae hits and worked with artists including Georgie Fame, Aswad and Eddie Grant. Since 1982, he has been resident guitarist with the Dennis Bovell Dub Band. His solo album Red, Gold and Blues went to number two on Jazz FM’s charts.