Reggae idol Jimmy Cliff joins the call for payback time

 
Rebecca Reid
12 March 2014

The legend that is Jimmy Cliff is back in London and headlining the annual Save the Children gala tonight. But, with 12 Years a Slave still riding high at the box office, he’s bringing another question too.

The Jamaican musician, one of whose most famous songs, Many Rivers to Cross, is partly inspired by slavery, told The Londoner that he supports the calls for reparations to the Caribbean countries from Britain and other European nations.

Cliff has seen Steve McQueen’s Oscar- winning film about the mid-19th century slave trade and found it “very moving”. On reparations, he points out that the idea was “one of the foundations of Rasta.” You know, you have all these bredren, they were saying, ‘Look, the Queen is supposed to pay us back.’ There were lots of them who were very serious about it too and they have a logical point to prove.

“But look, the Jews have always highlighted what has happened, their plight, what has happened to them, and also say, ‘Ok, you did that, you’re supposed to pay us something back.’ So why not other people, like my ancestors? I think it’s a fair deal.”

Cliff is one of the stars of A Night of Reggae at the Roundhouse, hosted by Save the Children chairman Alan Parker and Helena Bonham Carter.

Cliff is doing a world tour, including in the UK, and he’s also back in front of the camera. Many Rivers to Cross was later part of the soundtrack to the 1972 movie The Harder They Come, in which Cliff played “rudeboy” Ivanhoe Martin. The 65-year-old says he’s working on a sequel but as an adviser, not the star.

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