About this Event
🎉 Celebrating British Black History Month @ The Gleaners Café
🎬 Film Night: Cimarons Harder Than The Rock tells the story of their amazing history and follows the band’s final chapter as they dream of performing again, one last time…
Join us for a special community screening at The Gleaners Café as part of British Black History Month. Come together for an evening of film, food, and connection in a warm and welcoming space.
🌟 Don’t miss this chance to celebrate British Black History Month with film, food, and community spirit. We can’t wait to see you there!
We’ll be showing the classic film Cimarons (1967), which follows the story of Cimarons formed in the late 60s in London’s Harlesden, one of the capital’s most diverse neighbourhoods of the period. A few young men started making music at a local youth club, learning the trade as they went along. With three record stores specialising in Reggae and Rocksteady nearby, Cimarons, their name inspired by the Western TV show with nearly the same title, were influenced by the new sounds coming out of Jamaica.
Origins and Rise
- The Beginning: Formed around Harlesden and local London youth spaces (and famously conceptualized near a bus shelter), the group took inspiration from incoming Jamaican ska, rocksteady, and reggae records.
- Trojan Records House Band: By 1971, they became the go-to in-house session band for Trojan Records, playing on an estimated 90% of reggae tracks produced in the UK during that era.
- Backing Reggae Royalty: They backed practically every major Jamaican artist touring or recording in the UK, including Jimmy Cliff, Toots & the Maytals, Dennis Brown, Lee "Scratch" Perry, and Bob Marley. When Bob Marley and the Wailers first arrived in the UK for initial shows without the Wailers, the Cimarons stepped in to play his songs.
Global Milestones and Collaborations
- Global Pioneers: They broke international boundaries as the first reggae band to tour West Africa (1969), and perform in countries like Japan and Thailand (1975).
- The McCartney Connection: Their versatile reputation led them to work with pop royalty, including collaborating with Paul McCartney, who helped produce their 1981 album Reggaebility.
- Chart Success: They scored a Jamaican No. 1 hit with Marley’s "Talkin' Blues"—a rare feat for a UK-based reggae act.
Legacy and Recent Revival
- Overlooked Impact: Despite laying the foundation for Black British youth culture and the wider UK reggae explosion, the band suffered from decades of industry oversight and financial struggle.
- Harder Than the Rock: Their inspiring and bittersweet history is the subject of the acclaimed documentary Harder Than the Rock directed by Mark Warmington, which captures their enduring resilience and desire to perform live
Agenda
🕑: 06:30 PM - 08:00 PM
Food service between
Info: To keep you fuelled throughout the evening, enjoy vegan Caribbean-inspired meal, snacks and refreshing homemade drinks prepared by The Gleaners Café team. the meal will be served between 6.30 and 8.00 pm
Event venue & nearby stays
The Gleaners Cafe, 458 Hoe Street, London, United Kingdom
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