The influence that Roy Shirley – Mr. Symarip – has had over the cult of skinhead is incalculable. Of course, for a great deal of his career, he was the member of various groups, only relatively recently stepping out and using his own name as top billing. But the ‘60s in the UK was the backdrop of what began to get not just Shirley, but everyone from Laurel Aitken to Eddy Grant some sort of renown in the international ska, reggae and rock steady scene.
In late ’62, Shirley approached a producer and engineer about recording some tracks. The problem being that Shirley hadn’t composed anything. As a sort of try out, he sang a Christmas song, unaccompanied by a backing band. It got him a Chinese dinner apparently, but that’s it even after the single that was released and sold a few copies. Even despite this set back, Shirley persisted and took up the trombone - he idolized the Skatalites’ troubled Don Drummond.
As he began teaching himself through various books and the like, he encountered Rico Rodriquez, who had recently moved to the UK. And while the two met a few times in sort of mentor/student scenario, the elder performer quickly found the arrangement bothersome and discontinued the sessions. Much to Shirley’s chagrin, he was again relegated to practicing on his own.
Shirley, had at some point though, acquired a piano that resided in his apartment. The instrument served to tempt a few players over and Shirley began hosting some friends at informal jams. A few neighbors, though, had a proper group, even if the band worked to move in Rolling Stones’ territory and Shirley, emboldened by his then recent practicing forced his way into the ensemble, soon shifting its sound to ska and rock steady. Considering the date that this all occurred, the Bees, become the default backing band for any JA singer who sought to tour the island.
In this manner, the Bees and Shirley encountered Laurel Aitken and other notables, who on tours allowed the Bees an opportunity to perform in front of British natives that probably wouldn’t have heard of them otherwise. It was in this way that Shirley eventually garnered a big enough base to impact the genre with a later group named Symarip.
It’s been a pretty long time since Symarip performed, but Shirley hasn’t stopped singing. In fact, he’s released a few discs over the last decade, catering specifically to that sub culture that granted him a certain fame in the ‘60s and ‘70s. A good deal of The Skinheads Dem a Come, and his other discs, makes ready reference to skinners in a blatant form of pandering. But there are still throngs of cropped dancers waiting to hear more. At points these new efforts reach back to the hey day, “Wang Yu” perhaps being the most notable. And while Shirley isn’t finished, his discs don’t any longer carry the clout they once did.
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