In July 1974 Eric Clapton released his cover of 'I Shot The Sheriff'. It topped charts all around the world and was instrumental in breaking Bob Marley to a mainstream rock audience. It is therefore fitting that 30 years on, Eric Clapton has signed all 350 Deluxe copies of Rebel Music.

Genesis is proud to present a major tribute to one of the greatest legends in world music. Feted by The Rolling Stones, adored by The Beatles, his songs covered by the likes of Eric Clapton and Stevie Wonder, he changed the face of popular music and inspired generations of musicians. The boxset of his work - appropriately titled Legend - remains the best selling boxset of all time.

'I got out of the pool and there was Bob Marley sitting at one of those tables with tin umbrellas. And that's when I took the Kaya portrait. It wasn't a formal photo session or anything. I was wearing my swimsuit, that's how informal it was.' KATE SIMON

Kate Simon gained unique access to the Wailers. Rebel Music presents over 400 photos from her remarkable archive, much of which is being published here for the first time. They include:

• Live photos of The Wailers' 1975 concert at The Lyceum in London - where the legendary performance of 'No Woman No Cry' was recorded.
  
  
• The most famous portrait of Bob Marley ever taken - later used as the front cover of the album Kaya - as well as outtakes from the rest of the session, shot poolside at The Sheraton Hotel in Kingston.
  
  
• Candid shots of The Wailers on the Exodus Tour through Europe - onstage and off.
  
  
• The famous One Love Peace Concert where Bob united the opposing political leaders who were dragging Jamaica towards civil war.
  
  
• Marley's funeral in 1981, including the service and later the cortege that snaked across Jamaica from Kingston to Bob Marley's home parish of St Ann.

'She had a sort of war correspondent feel to her; she would get right into it. She travelled the whole way on the bus with them, roughed it up with everybody; she was really ready to do that and somehow she had the ability to communicate and to get everybody to relax and to take the great pictures that she got.' Chris Blackwell

'Kate shot in an honest, direct manner. A fellow worker, she could be found in the trenches with her trusted black body Nikon F-2. She did not seek to expose, but to shoot the picture her subject pictured - the joyful, mutable moments. How fortunate we are to have these images...' Patti Smith

Kate's shots are occasionally candid, catching her subjects in intensely personal moments. Others record events of momentous importance.

Her photos of the 1977 Exodus tour are perhaps the most astonishing of all and are a tour de force in documentary photography.

She captured it all: Marley's nightly shamanic performances; birthday celebrations on the tour bus; Bob contemplating, in quiet shock, a possible future for himself as he stands in a warehouse in Germany, full of artificial limbs; the endless games of football played in rehearsals, and hotel rooms; the group's joyous devotion to the Rastafarian faith; the airports and aeroplanes; the smiles; the occasional frowns; the jamming and, of course, the group's religious dedication to marijuana.

Kate shot all the reggae greats of the late Seventies and definitive images of the likes of Bunny Wailer, Peter Tosh, Burning Spear, Lee Perry and many more are featured.

Rebel Music also includes a comprehensive timeline of Bob Marley's life, along with a complete chronology of his recordings, UK and US releases and respective chart placings, put together with the help of the world's foremost reggae expert, Roger Steffens.

'From the purity of young romance, to the uncompromising commitment of Revolution, and every emotion in between, no voice has ever spoken such transcendent truth with such authority and communicated it so effectively. It will be many generations before music again produces an artist so respected and beloved worldwide as Bob Marley.' 'LITTLE' STEVEN VAN ZANDT

Produced to the immaculate standards Genesis is famous for, Rebel Music is a book to be treasured and a must for the serious collector.

As the leading limited edition publisher in the fields of modern music and culture, working with the world's most highly-regarded artists, musicians and writers, Genesis has established a reputation second to none.

With loyal subscribers in almost 60 countries - including rare and fine printed book departments of major libraries and institutions - earlier out of print Genesis editions are highly sought after. Recent publications like Ringo Starr's Postcards From The Boys, are already appearing at auction houses and earlier editions such as George Harrison's I Me Mine and Dominique Tarle's Exile have risen significantly in value.

Two years in the making, Rebel Music is destined to become equally collectible so early ordering is strongly advised.

Regular copy shown with its screen-printed wooden slipcase. Deluxe copies feature a full leather binding and are housed in a wooden box with sliding lid.

Eric Clapton's cover of 'I Shot The Sheriff' introduced Bob Marley to a whole new audience. Thirty years on, Eric has signed all 350 Deluxe copies of Rebel Music.

'Reggae had the same feeling as the blues for me. Hearing Marley for the first time was like when I first heard Jimmy Reed.' ERIC CLAPTON, Mojo, 2004

This large format volume (360mm x 250mm) comprises 256 pages and over 400 photos.

For Kate Simon's superb photographs, the reproduction process began in New York with the hand printing onto bromide paper of 250 black and white images. All aspects of this process were carefully overseen by Kate.

From here, the approved prints and colour transparencies were despatched via Genesis to its craftsmen in Milan. All images are faithfully reproduced in fine screen lithography and image varnished.

The text is master printed throughout in two colours - black and sepia - onto five different paper stocks, including one made entirely of cannabis.

Genesis is renowned for its extra special bindings and Rebel Music is no exception.

Sure to be a talking point will be the silk-screened wooden slipcases and boxes.

Only 2,000 copies will be made available. Numbers 1 to 350 are Deluxe copies and those from 351 to 2,000 are Regular copies.

There is a choice of a full, rich-brown leather binding for Deluxe copies, and quarter leather and buckram binding for Regular copies. The page edges of all copies are coloured with yellow ochre, and the endpapers are printed in full colour.

Deluxe copies are accompanied by a loose print, suitable for framing and also signed by Kate Simon, taken from the same session as the famous Kaya portrait.

All copies are signed by Kate Simon and Deluxe copies are also signed by Eric Clapton.

LINKS:

bobmarleymagazine.com