| (Walk
And) Don't Look Back |
Peter's relationship with the Rolling Stones had as many ups as it had downs. Their much fabled relationship lasted three years and spawned three albums and one minor hit single for Peter.
The Stones genuinely appreciated reggae music and were eager to link up with Peter, his hellfire and brimstone performance at the Peace Concert confirmed the Stones initial thoughts, that Peter was a very special artist and an extremely gifted musician. Their relationship would surely only benefit all parties involved. To the outside world their relationship might have seemed a little bizarre. The Glimmer Twins and the Bush Doctor don't really go hand in hand. The Rolling Stones were as rock'n'roll as you could possibly get, whilst Peter was as far from rock'n'roll as you could probably get, denouncing rock'n'roll and disco at every opportunity, making for an interesting combination. The Stones liked the glamour, the glitz, the heady rockstar life. Peter was roots, through and through, not interested in the rockstar life. However the Stones love for reggae music was not the only thing they had in common. Both shared a love for the blues and would often spend countless jam sessions in the studio's performing old blues tracks till dawnbreak, no doubt sharing countless spliffs and exchanging friendly banter. Their friendship continued to grow when Peter moved into Keith Richards' hillside Ocho Rios villa. All was well, Peter was finally going to receive the publicity, promotion and success he had long dreamt of, he was going to go on tour with the Stones performing to hundreds of thousands of people, he finally had a record label that would give him support, backing, promotion and not try and take advantage of him as his previous label Columbia had and to top it all off he even had a new apartment to reside at. Unfortunately for Peter this was only the beginning, the beginning of their relationship was also the end of their relationship as things turned progressively sour over the ensuing three years. BUSH DOCTOR ALBUM & TOUR Peter's first album on the Rolling Stones label was a real mixed bag of new and old material. Mick and Keith played on a number of tracks on the album that offered gems in the form of Moses: The Prophets, Stand Firm, the curious Creation and the albums best track, the title track. The album featured a number of re-working of old Wailers classics; I'm The Toughest, Soon Come and Dem Ha Fe Get A Beaten. However it was the duet with Mick Jagger on (Walk And) Don't Look Back that was originally recorded by the Temptations and then covered in 1966 by the Wailers for Coxsone Dodd. The duet gave Peter a minor chart hit in England and although the track was a love song (a genre which Peter always spoke negatively of), it was the titles double-message that no doubt attracted Peter to it, forward ever, backward never. Peter and Mick exchange in what appears to be spontaneous studio banter towards the end for a great closing finale, both playing off one another. Despite the album being released on the Stones label the album was not the big seller that Peter had hoped for. Possibly the best track Peter recorded in 1978 was an outtake that was issued on a hard to find Italian single. Lesson In My Life, Peter later re-cut this 9 years on for his final album No Nuclear War. In the summer of 1978 Tosh was one of the opening acts for the Stones' large North American tour. More often than not, Peter would be the opening act on the bill, performing in front of 80,000 plus audiences, crowds Peter had never even seen before, let alone played in front of. Unfortunately the fans in attendance were mainly their to see the Stones play and were not interested in what Peter had to say, dismissing him without even giving him a chance. On many occassions fans become rather hostile, throwing objects at Peter and the band as the crowd became restless waiting for the Stones to appear. However, this hostility would soon turn to loud cheers and applause when Mick would spontaneously appear through the crowds (on one such occassion at the Bottom Line Club in New York, Mick was passed to the stage by fans giving him a lift and pushing him through) and join Peter onstage for their duet on Don't Look Back which was popular with the crowd. Mick's appearance gave the audience something to cheer, Mick's appearance took some of the heat off of Peter, and the rest of Peter's set was invariably given a thorough listen by the fans on hand, intrigued by Mick's relationship with the herb smoking missionary from Westmoreland, Jamaica. Mick was a big fan of reggae, Marley in particular. In fact despite the hectic touring schedule, Mick found the time to see Bob perform on numerous occassions during Bob's 1978 Kaya tour. Their paths crossed on more than one occassion. The first show that Mick managed to catch was Bob's first performance at Madison Square Gardens on June 17th. Early that evening Mick and Peter had performed in front of a 90,000 plus crowd at the JFK Stadium in Philadelphia. Mick and model girlfriend Jerry Hall dashed out of the stadium as soon as their set was over into an awaiting helicopter that flew them into the heart of New York to see Bob's memorable sell out show. Mick and Jerry danced in the wings all night long, before getting the chance to hang out with Bob and the band after the show. The next meeting between the two superstars came a month later. Bob was performing at the County Bowl in Santa Barbara, California on H.I.M Emporer Haile Selassie's Birthday, meanwhile the Stones had a show later that evening in Anaheim, California. Mick not wanting to miss Bob perform delayed their appearance at the Anamheim stadium so that he could stay and watch Bob weave a trance like spell on the 4,423 fans in attendance. Bob delivering three sets of encores in one of his finest ever stage performances. Bob left the stage drenched in sweat, Mick left the concert full of admiration. Their paths crossed one more time in 1978, this meeting was the most memorable of the three. July 24th and Bob was performing at the Starlight Amphitheater in Burbank, California. That same night, the Stones and Peter were performing another set in Anaheim. As soon as Peter and the Stones had finished their set they quickly dashed to see what remained of Bob's set. They arrived just in time for the start of the encore. Peter and Mick watched from the sides as Bob skipped through Easy Skanking. The familiar intro to Get Up Stand Up then began, Peter nodding with delight. Halfway through the song Peter got the urge to jump onstage with Bob and join in for a reunion on the song they penned together some 5 years prior. Peter joined Bob onstage just at the right moment, singing at the exact same spot he did on the record. Bob's eyes lit up upon seeing his brother join him onstage, a beaming smile from ear to ear greeted Peter as the two of them ran through the classic anthem. Peter even joining in the "Woi Yoi" chants. Bob was in another world, dancing from one side of the stage to the other, leaving Peter centre stage. Peter and Bob shared the mic one more time before slapping hands as Peter left the stage Bob slipped effortless into Exodus to close the show. What made Peter join his brother on stage for such an historic moment? Some claim it was Mick's influence, Mick persuading Peter to join Bob, others claim that Peter wanted to impress Mick, or maybe Peter was caught up in the music and the moment and wanted to grace the stage with his childhood friend one more time. What ever the reason the 6,500 strong crowd on hand witnessed a monumental event, a reunion of two childhood friends and one of the most memorable highlights of either performers stage careers. After the end of the 1978 tour with the Stones, Peter performed some dates in the UK before returning to the US in mid December for an appearance on the hip TV show Saturday Night Live. Peter ran through his first number, the title track of his latest album Bush Doctor, a great rendition with Sly and Robbie shining throughout. Peter's second performance of the night was on the hit single from the album Don't Look Back. Peter wearing a customary beret and shades was soon joined by a mystery guest, from out of the shadows came an unannounced Mick Jagger. The two of them gave a very animated performance, with Mick getting up close and personal with Peter on a number of occassions that raised a few eyebrows. However the two of them left the stage to huge applause and rave reviews. Going some way to giving Peter the cross over success he so desired aswell as getting some much needed TV time and promotion. Although Don't Look Back was not the smash hit that Peter might have hoped for, his association with the Stones was getting him publicity and recognition. However, was Peter happy in diluting his material with over-production and self-conscious pop gimmickry to give him the success he so wanted? MYSTIC MAN Peter's second album for the Stones; Mystic Man can be considered to be one of Peter's strongest albums and arguably the best album on the Stones' label, album highlights include Day The Dollar Die, Recruiting Soldiers, Buk-In-Hamm Palace and the title track itself. A vast improvement on Bush Doctor with more originality and less watered down cross over material. Peter returning to his roots and answering some of his critics that had claimed Peter had gone soft and entering into the world of pop. Peter toured the US and Europe in 1979 as a headlining artist, leaving the Stones to continue on without him. Peter wanting to step out of the Stones' shadow and into the spotlight himself. Opening for the Stones gave him recognition and a wider audience not to mention notorioty, many fans had the chance to see Peter for the first time and liked what they saw. During the Mystic Man tour Peter took part in the Schaeffer Music Festival, a yearly concert series in New York. Drawing more than 30,000 fans, the biggest crowd ever in the series, even out drawing fellow Wailer Bob Marley who gave a breath taking performance 4 years prior. Peter was garnishing some impressive ticket sales in Europe too, selling more than 170,000 tickets performing in countries such as Italy, France, Switzerland, Germany, Austria, UK, Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Holland. Fans would come out in their thousands to support the Bush Doctor. The album and tour was garnishing positive reviews, though at the same time questions were being asked if success would spoil Peter Tosh. Peter took some time out in 1980, only performing a handful of dates, a visit to Brazil proved very successful. Brazil welcomed Peter with open arms and a sold out audience at the Sao Paulo Jazz Festival were treated to a fantastic Peter performance, proving to be the highlight of the entire festival. Peter also spent time in the studio perparing some tracks for a forthcoming album, tentatively titled Wanted: Dread & Alive. By 1981 Peter's friendship and relationship with the Stones had became strained. Rarely speaking and spending less and less time together, with the Stones becoming global superstars and constantly touring and working they had less time to work with Peter and received less attention. Promotion was getting less and less and singles were being marketed to the wrong audiences. Peter became very frustrated and voiced his opinion to Mick, though his pleas falling on deaf ears it would seem. WANTED: DREAD & ALIVE Peter worked harder than ever trying to promote his latest album Wanted: Dread & Alive, without the Stones promotion it was left to Peter to try and promote the album himself, by touring excessively and conducting numorous interviews in an attempt to spread the word on his new album. Peter recorded two different versions of the album. Trying to cater to the US and European markets, as Peter felt the Stones were not marketing him correctly it was left to himself to market the albums the way he thought best. Peter was always aware of the two differing markets and so released albums containing different tracklistings in the hope of capitalising on both markets. The USA edition contained stellar tracks such as Poor Man Feel It, Rastafari Is and the heart wrenching ballad Fools Die. Whilst the European release omitted Poor Man Feel It, Cold Blood and That's What They Will Do but the inclusion of Oh Bumbo Claat (Bumbo Claat being a Jamaican epletive, only Tosh would have the audacity to incorporate this into a song) and the prophetical Guide Me From My Friends gave the album additional depth. However the album did include commercial aspects in the shape of Nothing But Love (a duet with Gwen Guthrie) and Rock With Me. Peter once again somewhat watering down the album and giving it a pop feel to it, to appease the pop market.
AFTERMATH When asked what Peter thought of his work with Mick Jagger he replied: "Working with Jagger, I thought it would have given me exposure, but I don't think it has given me the right exposure. If it had given me the right exposure then people would all know my name, yet there are many people who still don't know me". Some of Tosh's most enduring fans now regard the albums as somewhat sub-par. Tosh himself saw the failure as symptomatic of his relationship with the Stones. "I was inhumanely treated. I am always prepared. Because if I was not prepared, I'd be exhausted and frustrated." Peter felt that the records were "willfully or accidentally, under-promoted and incorrectly marketed" and that it was a "tragedy, but know I must be compensated and that my trust is in the almighty and leave all the cases that are difficult to him." Tosh eventually signed with EMI, unfortunately his label problems continued, in fact their wasn't even time for a honeymoon period with EMI, he had hardly completed Mama Africa, his debut album on the label, when the fighting over money began. Lawsuit after lawsuit ensued. A disgruntled and disheartened Peter had not received payment for the album sales. Peter all but disappeared to the outside world for the next 4 years. He went away and spent time in Africa, dealing with bush medicene. He also took the time away to heal an ulcer in his stomach that was tying him in knots and causing him great discomfort. Unfortunately these 4 years away from the music scene left Peter once again pennyless. Though Peter had recorded an album worth of material in 1985 and had hopes of releasing the album that same year. However more lawsuits and record label disputes meant that the album was delayed for two full years. Peter had also come to the conclusion that he needed to go on tour once again. He needed to tour to support and promote the album as the outside world had all but forgotten about him, he also needed the money from the ticket sales too. Unfortunately this tour would never take place due to Peter's untimely death. Intent on an undefined brand of crossover stardom, he spent the greater part of several albums on the Stones' label diluting or diminishing promising material with egregious over-production and self-conscious pop gimmickry. However, the periodic Jamaican takes and mixes of his output during this juncture almost invariably retained the unalloyed verve on which he had built his reputation. His hopes of cross-over success with the Stones had failed. Peter walked
and didn't look back. |
 |
Following
Peter's legendary performance at the One Love Peace Concert, he was
approached by the Rolling Stones' Mick Jagger, who had been in the audience
that tumultuous evening and was flabbergasted by the power of Peter's
performance. Jagger arranged for Tosh to become the firt signing to
the Stones' own record label. During an interview Mick commented that
Peter was a "very talented artist with no home to go to and we
were more than happy to offer him that". The Stone's didn't stop
there. They even asked Peter to tour with them in 1978. 
Peter
was never interested in no superstar status though, instead wanting
to spread his music and message to all four corners of the earth. The
Wanted tour lasted an incredible five months, with Peter performing
an astounding one hundred and four shows in fifty four cities in the
United States while performing at twenty six cities in Europe. Peter
was on the road non stop for almost half of 1981. Determined to spread
his message, promote his album and gain some world wide recognition.
The tiresome tour ended as did Peter's relationship with the Stones.
Their friendship had become increasingly strained, with Peter unhappy
at the lack of promotion for the Wanted album, unhappy with his contract,
his payment and just about everything else. Peter wanted out of the
contract and wanted to move labels, no longer happy at being in the
shadow of the Rolling Stones. Unfortunately Peter was met with some
cunning lawyers that was making it increasingly difficult for Peter
to just jump ship. However, their relationship finally came to an abrupt
end when Peter who was still staying at Keith Richards Ocho Rios apartment
refused to vacate the premises upon Richards return as he thought the
Stones owed him. Peter and Keith Richards got in an heated exchange
over the telephone with Peter even threatening Keith that if he came
to the house he would kill him dead. Keith called Peter's bluff and
arrived at his holiday home, not being greeted by Peter but by a herd
of goats that Peter had let roam around the house, destroying furniture,
carpets, fixtures and fittings. This was Peter's parting gift for the
Stones. Peter was now homeless and without a label.