Pbsbob marley’s life and career timelinefeb 14, 2001

That wetted my appetite for filming the real thing in its real setting: Jamaica. I wanted to show the music as a dynamic political force that reflected the history, politics and aspirations of the island. Which led me to making the first of what turned out to be a 14 hour series on the role of music in different parts of the developing world.

I shot for three weeks in Jamaica in , at the height of the political gang wars, and at a time when Reggae music had reached a pinnacle of creativity. It has since been show 7 times on British TV and around the world. In the same series, we filmed in Brazil, China, India, Africa and many other places. I met Bob Marley on that film because, in true Jamaican music-business fashion, his manager the recently deceased Don Taylor agreed for me to include Bob in the film.

But when editing was finished, Taylor demanded one million dollars in cash, or an injunction to prevent it being shown. The next day in walked Bob with an entourage of ganja-puffing brethren.

In the two decades since Bob Marley has gone, it is clear that he is without question one of the most transcendant figures of the past hundred years.

They watched the film and then disappeared in a cloud of smoke. Next day I got a call from Don Taylor apologizing for his errors and dropping all objections. JM : In the early seventies. Q : Did you learn anything that surprised you about the subject, while making this film?

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JM : Well, first, I wanted to get to the heart of the assassination attempt on Bob. That was an eye-opener. I also got to talk at length with people who knew Bob intimately. And others, like the indomitable Bunny Wailer, who had never really spoken on film about their closeness to Bob.