Steel Pulse has been one of the most revolutionary bands in roots reggae music since they formed back in 1975. Following their landmark debut, 1978’s “Handsworth Revolution,” Steel Pulse have released nearly a dozen studio albums featuring radical lyrics and undeniable grooves. The band, which has kept a consistent touring schedule over the years, played at the Belly Up in Solana, California this August. Coincidentally, the legendary North San Diego County venue is celebrating their 50th anniversary this year, while Steel Pulse will be celebrating their 50th anniversary next year. After the show, I got a chance to speak with founding member, songwriter, vocalist, and guitarist, David Hinds, about why he likes playing a mix of small and large venues, rockin’ against racism, and how he’s kept the band going for five decades.

Goody James: Steel Pulse are no strangers to large venues, and the Belly Up is only 600 capacity. What’s the difference between playing somewhere like The Sound in Del Mar last night, which has a capacity of 1,900 and playing here tonight?

David Hinds: This is a lot more intimate. There’s a lot more freedom, I find, when I’m performing in a small venue. The other one, huge venues, I tend to be watching my p’s and q’s and all kinds of stuff. If that goes wrong, it does my head in. But here, if mistakes happen, you sort of say, “Ahh, it’s just a night out, we’re having a party at a small club. So, both vibes I like, but this is a more intimate vibe for me. I sort of like the smaller venues for intimacy, but the bigger venues to know that we’re reaching mankind to the max.

It varies from town to town. We always get a good audience here, we get a good audience in Santa Cruz, and most of California. I mean, California is the reggae state. There’s no doubt about that. You cannot perform here and not have a good time.

GJ: It seems like the crowd at the Belly Up appreciates roots music in its many forms, like blues, folk, and reggae. Do you feel like this venue plays a role in keeping that kind of music alive?

DH: The answer to that is “Hell yeah.” As a matter fact, California is a roots reggae state. You find all these huge dancehall acts coming out from Jamaica, they don’t fair out so well by the time they come to the West Coast. They normally gravitate toward cities that have a stronger influx of Jamaicans attending the shows. So you’ll find a good attendance in New York, lots of Jamaicans there, Miami, D.C., Atlanta, Chicago. But by the time they start to go across the Midwest or hit Texas, there are less Jamaicans. And by the time they get to the California side of things, there are more people supporting roots reggae than dancehall. So, yes, I do agree that places like the Belly Up and Californians in this neck of the woods are more supportive of the roots reggae music. That’s for sure.

GJ: Steel Pulse has been a band with a revolutionary message of liberation and fighting against oppression for nearly five decades. What is Steel Pulse’s message in 2024?

DH: It’s diverse. When we first got introduced to the world, people sort of had their jaws dropping. You know, a “WTF” kind of thing. It was when we had first come out with a song called “Ku Klux Klan.” It was our way of interpreting what the Klan meant to us in England. There was a political party called the National Front that was representing the Ku Klux Klan side of things there. So I think Steel Pulse is more known for rockin’ against racism. When we launched ourselves in Britain and became a household name, it was us being center stage at all these concerts that were fighting against racism. We were at Victoria Park with bands like Sham 69, The Clash, and all these types of acts back in the day. Then we cut into the United States and people were amazed that we knew about the negativity of the Ku Klux Klan, coming from England. They didn’t even know Black folks were in England!

We had all that happening when we first came out as a band, and it hasn’t left us. As you can see, and as we mentioned tonight, racism hasn’t left us. Right now, a lot of countries, like France and Britain- especially France -they’ve got right-wing political parties that are growing in numbers. They’re not disintegrating, they’re not fading away, they’re not dissolving: they’re growing in numbers. And the same in Britain. The place was turned upside down a few weeks ago based on someone who was probably a refugee or asylum seeker. It looked like they murdered three white kids in a nursery and England was upset about that big time. All the racist “activists” at the time ran out to use it as their chance and their platform to show how they feel about minorities being in Europe and across the United Kingdom. So I would easily say I think that Steel Pulse has been putting the message out there against racism and it still hasn’t left us, unfortunately.

GJ: Going back to those early days of Rock Against Racism and playing alongside punk bands, do you still feel a shared lineage or connection to punk rock?

DH: Yes! Most definitely. I mean, we evolved together. We evolved based on fighting against what the system stood for. The system was never a fair one. They never played Black music from Britain on the radio, so to speak. The punk rockers at the time purposely made it their ammunition, their M.O., to have Black reggae acts supporting them as opening acts for their concerts. So we jumped on all of them. There were The Adverts, Ian Dury and The Blockheads, The Sex Pistols, The Clash, The Stranglers; all of them were having reggae acts opening for them. We have not forgotten the chance that they gave us to be visible. We’ll see each other once in a while and talk about the old times, when music was real, when people were really speaking their minds and didn’t give a shit, pardon my Spanish, if they didn’t sell another record because of how they felt at the time about what was going on in Britain. So yes, there is always going to be an attachment, there’s always going to be that connection, affiliation, and respect for it.

GJ: Do you feel like artists now are more cautious about speaking their minds or shy away from being so outspoken?

DH: I think a lot of people are going for the money now. They’re going for the money, the bling-bling. They’re going for the glamour. I mean look at today’s reggae. You’ve got white reggae right now, in all honesty, that’s Californian-born and from Hawaii and these kinds of places. Their lyrical contents ain’t really about that kind of a struggle, if you see what I’m saying. But at the same time, if you’re not feeling that struggle, if you’ve never experienced it, don’t pretend. So I sort of still respect the music for that, but at the same time, if we’re being real, it’s limited. But I think with time they’re gonna wake up. Whether it’s reggae, whether it’s R&B, whether it’s jazz, there’s always someone that’s going to air their views. You had Nina Simone back in the day, you had Gil Scott-Heron back in the day, just to name a few. They surface once in a while. Tracy Chapman, for example, there’s Joan Armatrading back in England, who is like a counterpart to Tracey Chapman. There’s always someone there and all of a sudden they seem to be larger than life because they’re saying things that nobody else is saying. So who knows what’s going to happen over the next few years and who will come out and say, “Look, this is how we feel.” People want that. People definitely want that.

GJ: Speaking of the next few years, what are Steel Pulse’s plans? Any chance of a new album?

DH: Well, we’re hoping to put a package out. We’re hoping to get something out for the 50th anniversary; a souvenir of some kind, some kind of a symbol, something tangible like a keepsake. It’s not easy to get to 50 years. The music’s rotten, the industry’s rotten, you’ve got band members that can be fighting against each other. We saw how great The Beatles were, and they only lasted what, eight years? 1963 to 1970 or something like that? Seven years? So it shows you- and what’s their name is formulating themselves -um what’s the name of that band that emulated The Beatles?

Will Saavedra: Oasis.

DH: Oasis. I keep saying to myself “Ocean” or something like that. (laughs) Oasis. It’s not easy. They’re brothers and they couldn’t get along. You’ve got UB40 that is split into two right now, because of brothers that can’t get along. Whether you’ve got brothers in the band or you came together as strangers, after a while there’s someone there saying, “You could do without him” or “You could do this on your own, you know.” It’s that kind of thing you’ve got to be fighting against all the time. Then there’s always record labels as well saying, “Hmm I wonder what we could do with this guy.” Bob Marley and The Wailers came out of that experience where there were three of them, three incredible individuals walking the planet, and all of a sudden they got divided by the second album they recorded. It’s hard to keep a band going for that long.

GJ: Have you kept Steel Pulse going for so many years by staying true to what your beliefs are and what the music means to you?

DH: It’s part of that. Part of is to know how to read people, know when you need to nip something in the bud or change it immediately. There’s a saying in Jamaica, “If the finger stinks, you chop it off.” You’ve got to know when there’s a problem arising, know when to nip it in the bud or totally eradicate it. Unfortunately, it can appear like a mafia business at times. But at the end of the day, right now, this is probably the best band I’ve ever had, out of all transitions and all the changes over the years. Obviously, this is not the same ensemble as I had 50 years ago, but I can put hand on heart that this is the best band I’ve got right now, as far as energy levels, as far as how they relate to each other as friends, and everything else. You’ve got bands that go on stage who aren’t speaking to each other. It’s not like that here. It’s a hard road, but I’m glad that we’ve got that milestone and that achievement.

Steel Pulse has upcoming tour dates in Tacoma, Washington, São Paulo, Brazil, and Papamoa, New Zealand. Check out the Steel Pulse website to keep up with their tour dates, merch drops, and other announcements!

Steel Pulse’s David Hinds Speaks on 50 years of Rockin’ Against Racism

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Steel Pulse’s David Hinds Speaks on 50 years of Rockin’ Against Racism

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