Reggae Chartbusters

To hear the selection, have a listen here!

An Introduction To Reggae Chartbusters By Count Skylarkin by Trojan Records on Mixcloud

To celebrate the reissue of the popular Reggae Chartbusters series, Reggae DJ, Count Skylarkin of the popular Skylarkin’ System has created a killer mixcloud, featuring many of the best-loved tracks that feature across the 6 volumes.

For those as yet unfamiliar with the classic range, ‘Reggae Chartbusters’ was launched by Trojan late in 1969 to highlight the label’s best-selling and unsurprisingly it swiftly became one of the best-selling lines in the company’s catalogue.

Released annually, each of the volumes topped the Reggae album charts, even out-selling the much vaunted ‘Tighten Up’ collections, yet surprisingly the series only ran for three years before being brought to an end in 1972.

Now, some 45 years after the release of the first ‘Reggae Chartbusters’ LP, the seminal line has been revived, with the original trio of albums augmented by another three volumes, each of which highlight the most popular Reggae sounds from specific periods throughout the remainder of the seventies.

Volume One brings together a selection of favourites from the late sixties, when the genre was still in its embryonic stage, while subsequent collections trace the music’s development, covering all styles from ‘Skinhead’ or ‘Boss Reggae’ through to the Roots, Dub and Lovers music of the close of the following decade.

Included among the 120 classic tracks across these 6 CDs are over 40 major UK chart hits, with every major Reggae artist from the sixties and seventies featured along the way. Also included are a number of one-hit wonders, such as Horace Faith, the Hot Shots and Blue Haze, all of whose moment in the spotlight proved disappointingly brief.

Each CD collection faithfully retains the style of their respective period, with booklets jam-packed with relevant ephemera and fascinating commentaries, written by original Trojan employee, Rob Bell, recalling the label’s early history and the recordings that established it as the world’s greatest Reggae label.

So if you missed out on these essentail collections first time around, make sure you don’t do so again!