Last week, London-based musician Celeste recorded three tracks for a special ‘At Home’ session with Apple Music. This included tracks Little Runaway, released this August, and Both Sides of the Moon, which she performed on BBC Introducing early on in her career. As well as these pre-existing songs, she teamed up with East London singer-songwriter Hak Baker for a cover of Rudy, A Message To You. The session is avaliable on Apple Music.
The session was organised by Apple Music, in celebration of Black History Month. Over the course of October, the platform will be promoting Black British musicians both new and established. We can expect to see exclusive playlists, interviews and performances as part of this worthwhile series.
The recordings of Little Runaway and Both Sides of the Moon were seamless and powerful. It was especially nice to see Celeste preform her first ever single, given the amount of success she has achieved since its release. In contrast to the two down-beat soulful songs, her and Baker’s cover of Rudy, A Message To You was a buoyant track, filled with the joy of collaboration. At the end of the recording you can hear the pair laughing in the background.
After the second chorus, Baker diverts from the original to deliver his own verse. He sings: ‘In a London town, where the smiles wore upside down// Such abundant frowns, everywhere I look and turn around// In a town like London, Babylon run around with a truncheon.’
The original version of the song was recorded in 1967 by rocksteady musician Dandy Livingstone. Later in 1979, The Specials covered it. Livingstone song was originally about social unrest amongst the Jamaican community in England, an address to the so called ‘rude-boys’ ska fans of the time to keep calm and stay out of trouble.
In the 70’s, The Specials cover was a commentary on the disaffection and rioting that took place during the Winter of Discontent. By this time, the white community had appropriated the ‘rude-boy’ aesthetic of sharp suits and trilby hats; particularly within the punk subculture.
A key figure in this was Jerry Dammers (The Specials frontman), who set up 2 Tone Records in ’79 in a bid to dismantle racial tensions using music. The idea was to do so through multi-racial ska-revivalist bands such as The Specials, The Selector and The Beat.
Today, Celeste and Baker’s version takes on a new meaning. Baker’s verse about ‘Babylon [running] around with a truncheon’ is a reference to racial violence within the police force, that is all too often targeted at innocent young black men. The importance of this message, especially in light of George Floyd’s murder and the recent re-examination of cases such as Stephen Lawrence’s, is paramount.
