Celebrating Bob Marley [Celebrating Jamaica At 60]

Having made her name with the international 1970 hit Young Gifted and Black, Marcia went on to join the I-Threes, backing the Wailers on tour and on countless classic records. She brings a unique insight to the reggae star's relationship with the UK, which started with Marley's early 1970s visits to record and perform with the Wailers.

The documentary then focuses on 1977, when Marley responded to the shock of an attempt on his life by leaving Jamaica and making London his home for the whole of that memorable year.

In this richly creative, culturally crucial period for Marley, he lived at various London addresses, hanging out with fellow musicians and kindred spirits. He played his beloved football in Hyde Park and other green spaces across the capital; stood as a healing shaman in a city reeling from the 1976 Notting Hill Carnival riots; helped forge the lifelong bond between reggae and punk; and recorded the unforgettable Exodus album, predominantly at Island Records' Basing Street Studios in west London.

The programme features all-new interviews with the musicians, DJs, print and photo journalists and label people who knew, worked and played with Bob during those days; soundtracked by the great music he made and performed as an honorary Brit.

Contributors include reggae DJ David Rodigan; filmmaker, musician and 6 Music presenter Don Letts; former Island staffer John Knowles and music journalist John Shearlaw who share vivid memories of playing 5-a-side football with Bob.

Levi Roots speaks of the Bob he knew in London. And Vivien Goldman - Bob's press officer and confidante - explains why he came to the UK and how his stay influenced the sound of Exodus.

The documentary also examines why Marley eventually quit London to return to Jamaica, the legacy he left behind and what happened on subsequent visits to the UK, as his global status grew to that of a prophet.

Marcia Griffiths looks at Bob Marley's creative period of exile in London.

Marking 60 years of Jamaican independence with playlists and documentaries

Knowing Bob Marley features intimate and revealing interviews that provide a revealing insight into the experiences that shaped the man who became the third world's first superstar.

Recorded exclusively for this programme Island Records founder Chris Blackwell, former girlfriend Esther Anderson, lawyer Diane Jobson, backing singer Marcia Griffith and Wailers guitarist Junior Marvin - all tell their story of the Bob Marley they knew best.

The programme reveals how the Jamaica he grew up in, with high unemployment, plus race and class divides, shaped him. We chart his musical rise from follower of trends such as the Rude Boy movement, to a reluctant leader of fellow musicians as he spread his reggae rhythm and message across the world.

Those close to Bob also reveal the circumstances of his death, which started with a toe injury during a game of football and resulted in his passing at the age of 36, just four years later.

Bob Marley was born in 1945 to a white father and black mother, at a time of racial division in Jamaica. Bob lacked parental guidance as he grew up in Nine Mile, a rural part of St Ann's before moving to the Trench Town suburb of Kingston in his early teens. In the 60s, he found music during a decade where opportunities were limited. With his friends Peter Tosh and Bunny Livingston, Bob created hype around Jamaica as The Wailers, and in 1973 were signed to Island Records as Bob Marley & The Wailers. Over the next eight years Bob became an international superstar before his untimely death on 11th May 1981.

A special programme remembering Bob Marley.

Marking 60 years of Jamaican independence with playlists and documentaries