One Love - One Lesson

By Lark Music

A collage of colorful pieces forms a portrait of a man with dreadlocks against a white background.

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There’s plenty to take away from the Bob Marley: One Love Experience at London’s Saatchi Gallery – but the lesson to learn for any musician is to protect your copyright.

The reggae superstar, who died aged 36 from a rare form of skin cancer, did not make a will. His mantra ‘Don’t Worry About Thing (Three Little Birds)’ meant widow Rita and his legally recognised children had to spend more than a decade in legal battles to control the singer-songwriter’s estate.

Now free to organise the Bob Marley: One Love Experience this touring exhibition is the family’s loving celebration of Marley, the boy who was born in the rural hills of Nine Mile, Jamaica.

A giant vinyl of Legend at the start of the experience

His daughter Cedella Marley, CEO of Bob Marley group of companies, says “We’ve been wanting to launch a Bob Marley touring exhibition for many years.

“We’re thrilled to see it come to life and debut in London, which had a very special place in Daddy’s heart. We look forward to continuing to spread Daddy’s music and message to the globe.”

Marley’s was a humble background; he was born in 1945 to 19-year-old Cedella Booker and a rather absent father, British naval officer Norval Sinclair Marley, 60, who came from Crowborough, in East Sussex.

Bob Marley One Love Experience, the Concrete Jungle Street Art Expo @ SaatchiGallery – Credit: Alex Brenner

Marley was 30 when he and his group the Wailers became known across the globe through the album Natty Dread which featured ‘No Woman, No Cry’ and the family embraces his fame in previously unseen photographs and memorabilia including the award to mark his 1994 induction to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

In the Soul Shakedown Studio visitors can watch concert footage; walk along a corridor piled high with stage gear and in the Fan Art Exhibition view uplifting works including those by Mr. Brainwash, who creates images of the reggae icon using broken pieces of vinyl records.

Signage at experience

Bob Marley would have celebrated his 77^th birthday this year and it is easy to feel the love of his family, alongside Jonathan Shank of Terrapin Station, in curating this experience. It is certainly the start of many more collaborations including a Bob Marley biopic, which Cedella, alongside brother Ziggy and mother Rita, will soon be producing alongside Paramount Films.

Bob Marley: One Love Experience is at Saatchi Gallery, London, until 18 April

Article image: Bob Marley triptych by Mr Brainwash

Person wearing headphones smiles while using a laptop, sitting near a staircase and a piano in a wood-paneled room.

Need copyright advice?

The Incorporated Society of Musicians offers detailed advice to musicians on the subject of copyright and highlights the main legislation in the UK – the Copyright, Designs & Patents Act 1988.

Visit ism.org/advice/copyright-online-musician or ISM members can contact legal@ism.org

The PRS Foundation, the UK’s leading charitable funder of new music and talent development, also has answers to all the legalities and pitfalls. Visit prsfoundation.com

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