Symarip's Ripped Off

The term â??skinhead reggaeâ?? is endlessly confusing to those that donâ??t have either the desire to find out what it means or the sense to figure that it isnâ??t some sort of misnomer. But the term could easily be applied to a group that has had as many names as hits, Symarip (or Simaryp or The Bees, The Pyramids, Seven Letters, Zubaba).

The British sextet was made up of members who were all able to trace their lineage back to the West Indies. And partially due to this â?? as well as a simple love for the music â?? the band decided to traffic in ska and reggae. Coming together in the mid sixties, the band originally made a dash for the pop charts, but soon spurned that kind of work to focus on their collective love.

First releasing work in the ska/reggae mold, the band went by the name The Pyramids and had a chart hit with "Train to Rainbow City." Oddly enough, that track as well as several others found the group working with a young and unspoiled Eddy Grant. Though this debut single found a bit of success for the Pyramids, they soon became disenfranchised as a result of their label â?? President Records â?? neglecting to tell the band that theyâ??d scored a hit in Germany. Of course, that wouldnâ??t be believable today, but it happened.

Fed up with the mistreatment that the band felt was unwarranted, they devised a plan to record under another name so as to escape the legal implications inherent in disregarding a contract. In a mis-matched palindrome, the Pyramids become Symarip. As the newly christened group continued to perform around London, they saw that more and more skinheads began attending shows. And in an adept business decision, the band collectively decided to write a few songs catering to their new found audience. The tracks “Skinhead Girl,” "Skinhead Jamboree" and the all too famous "Skinhead Moonstomp" – which was based on a Derrick Morgan track – found the band gaining an even greater success in live situations. Unfortunately, that didn’t necessarily translate into album sales and the group basically called it quits in the early ‘70s. Members did, however, relocate to Germany under the name Zubaba and performed Afro-Beat for a time.

During the 2-Tone explosion of the late â??70s, Symarip found that their work had been discovered by a new generation of music fans. The skinheads were again present, but the newly minted (or transplanted) British rude boys had claimed the group as their own as well â?? their anthem makers. And by 1980 Skinhead Moonstomp had seen its reissue and actually made it into the charts based upon the legend surrounding the group as well as the patronage of the ever popular Specials, who were known to cover Symarip live at shows.

Today the group has been officially dissolved, with lead singer Roy Ellis appropriating the name Mr. Symarip, although the end of 2008 saw a reconstituted group perform in England. Ellis has kept busy apart from the group and recently released a disc via Chicagoâ??s Jump Up! Records.