Sound system culture first sprung up in Britain in the 1950s, but its lasting impact on UK music has spread across generations of sounds and scenes ever since. From the early days of ska and reggae at blues dances in West Indian households to illegal warehouse raves in the 80s, the 90s jungle movement, and Notting Hill Carnival, sound system culture is an integral part of the UK’s vibrant musical landscape. In celebration of Marshall’s upcoming partnership with Patta, Samutaro, and Liam Bailey, explore London’s key record stores to uncover the knowledge and history behind this vital movement.
Given the power and influence of sound system culture, it’s no surprise that the movement has inspired communities all over the world. Marshall has helped power new generations of artists break barriers with their multi-directional approach to music, style, and community building. Whether it’s hardcore bands like Bad Brains, who used Marshall’s JCM800 amps to amplify their political statements, to acts like Justice, who rocked Coachella in 2008 flanked by a wall of Marshall amps, or Jay-Z, who turned it all the way up to 99 with his digital skyscraper of Marshall stacks, Marshall has helped visionary artists navigate the cultural shift while making a big statement on stage.
This fall, Marshall and Patta are coming together to celebrate sound system culture. Born from the Amsterdam music scene, the Dutch streetwear label has used its vast network of musical creatives to form the Patta Soundsystem. Originally designed as a DJ crew, it has evolved into a full-fledged sub-label of the brand responsible for music-related products, events, and exclusive record releases. They’ve partnered with everyone from Apron Records to Dekmantel Festival, the Jimi Hendrix estate, Conway, The Alchemist, Freddie Gibbs, MIKE, Madlib, Yussef Dayes and more.
“My experience growing up with sound system culture is as a lickle pickney being next to big ass bass bins very confused as to why it was so loud, but also loving it,” says Liam Bailey of his early childhood in the UK. Born and raised in Nottingham, England, the son of an English mother and Jamaican father, Bailey got his early influences from his mom’s record collection. “I was immersed in reggae dub vinyl with loudspeakers.” Those records he’d listen to not only provided some solace for a young Liam; but Bob Marley and Dillinger, Stevie Wonder and The Supremes, The Beatles, and Jimi Hendrix would ultimately shape him into the soul, reggae, and blues-influenced musician he is today.
Record collecting is a hobby he has carried forward into adulthood, digging through the archives of pioneering artists like Duke Vin, Count Shelly, and Admiral Ken, who helped transplant reggae and sound system culture into the UK back in the 50s. “Music is my sanity,” Bailey admits. “It's the place I feel most at home. Listening and making music. I feel uneasy when I’m not doing something musical. I find it hard to think about anything else. It means life to me.”
As a seasoned musician who regularly plays using Marshall's equipment, Bailey says it is the sound that you get from Marshall that makes them so special. “Jimi Hendrix didn't use a lot of pedals when he played; instead, he just relied on the powerful noise and that signature valve sound Marshall is known for,” he says. While Marshall is most famous for its amps being used by big rock ‘n’ roll stars like Hendrix, Bailey also notes how a lot of reggae musicians work with Marshall amps due to the fact that they cut through the heavy bass sound, which has made them popular with guitarists. “When Marshall started making his own amps, they were the loudest around at that time because you had Les Paul making the guitar, and everyone was innovating. Without Marshall, rock ‘n’ roll wouldn’t have sounded the same. It's as simple as that.”
Bailey’s unwavering passion for sound and reggae roots made him the perfect choice to guide us through the history of UK sound system culture. To start the journey, Bailey invited us to Peckings Records in Shepherds Bush, which is the first record store to import and sell the sound of Jamaica to the UK. “For me, the significance of Peckings cannot be overstated and has only been overstated over the past few years,” says Bailey. “It's the first reggae vendor, the one dealing with Coxsone Dodd, Dennis Brown, Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry, Prince Buster, Lord Comic. His Jamaican connection made him the main point of contact in the U.K. for big industry figures back home, not just for distribution but also for London’s sound system culture. “They weren’t dealing with anyone else. He did that off his own back. Records went all over the country, and that is what helped spread the culture.”
The history still lives, and its legacy is carried by the sons of George Price, Chris, and Duke, who continue to keep the cultural torch alight by importing hard-to-find classic dubplates from the ’60s through to the present day. The record store is like a shrine to sound system culture, with the wall plastered with photos of legends in the scene: Count Suckle, Dennis Brown, and Duke Vin. Chris reveals that it was Duke Vin who established the UK’s first Jamaican-style sound system. Bringing the rich culture of sound systems from their hometowns, enthusiasts like Duke Vin crafted custom speakers and bass bins with the idea of making things sound louder than they’d ever sounded before.
“What they brought to the table is amazing because you now have sound systems all over the world, and it's all attributed to the first migrants that came here from Jamaica,” says Chris. “They had to do it from nothing. There was no help from the government.”
Chris goes on to explain that the sound systems set up by Duke Vin, Count Shelley, and Admiral Ken were more than just music: they harbored a social environment hard to find outside the community. “Back in the day, we get here, no Irish, no blacks, no dogs, so we got to set up our own ting,” says Bailey. “Each man had his own sound, and people would congregate to the sound. And this still happening to this day.”
Early gatherings, known as Blues dances or shebeens, were formed in West Indian homes in
Notting Hill and Ladbroke Grove. These safe spaces offered an inward, communal relief for the Windrush generation, who faced segregation and discrimination. It didn’t take long for reggae to spread, and sound systems would soon spring up all over London and the UK. Suffra, Coxsone, Shakka, Saxon, Bombassa, and Java are just a few famous names reeled off by Chris. “Sound systems were our gangs, so every area had a sound.”
Peckings Records was a hot spot for selectas, who would raid the shelves for the latest imports and releases. “Jamaica had a real industry, so records would come every week thick and fast.” Though Peckings was the first outpost, other record stores began opening up all over London to serve the growing appetite for the Jamaican sound. “Dub vendor, Summit in Birmingham, Hawk Eye, Daddy Cool, Don Christie, they were all over,” says Chris. Peckings is one of the few original stores to stand the test of time. In 2022, the Peckings family was honored with a blue plaque at its original Askew Road location, a testament to the store's enduring influence and cultural contribution.
Naturally, as the culture for sound system has evolved, a new generation of stores have opened up in the city. Lion Vibes in Brixton is another cornerstone of the UK reggae scene. Located in Brixton market, the store focuses on all forms of rare collector records from mento to ska to rocksteady and roots to the latest reggae and UK dub and shaka style steppers vinyl. “I picked Lion Vibes because they’re my bredrins,” says Bailey. “I also like that Matt has sick records. It's not generic. He’s a true selecta.” Matt Downes, the store owner, started Lion Vibes in 1997, dealing in imported pre-releases from Jamaica and second-hand records, as well as producing records out of Jamaica under his own label Lion Vibes. The store regularly hosts open deck nights that bring the community together. “You can pull up, put down a 45, and put down your riddim. And that's how people want to bond.”
Though Bailey wasn’t there during the heyday of sound system culture in the ‘60s, he says it’s still very much alive today. “The thing that compels me about sound system culture after all these years is how powerful a sound system is at bringing people together,” he says. “All the genres of music and genres of fashion have stemmed from sound system culture. Drum n Bass, jungle, dub, dubstep, you name it.”
“Patta is a bad boi brand that is vital to the fashion industry,” says Bailey. “Not many people have been able to create a platform like theirs.” Patta is one of the few internationally revered, black-owned streetwear brands around. Though Patta operates in the streetwear arena, the brand offers a much broader and richer scope of street culture, one that encompasses art, music, community, and education.
“It doesn’t just make you look good but makes you feel good about who you are and your cultural identity. It's important to celebrate that,” says Bailey. “Marshall does the same. But it is steeped in blues and rock ‘n’ roll culture, which also was invented by black men and women in America. It's all connected.”
Staying true to the origins of sound system culture, Patta founders Edson and Guillaume use their own cultural experience, whether it is from the point of view of their Surinamese heritage or their experience living and working in Amsterdam to nurture a new kind of social environment difficult to find in the city. Likewise, Marshall has amplified the voices of subcultures, creating a space for people to come together and create something brand new. That rebellious, countercultural energy is something that Marshall and its electrifying audio gear have been a part of since the company’s birth 60 years ago.
