Today, 20 years ago there is this very nice invitation to a fantastic club in the beautiful city of Thun. It is the last preparing event before the Skasplash tour starts. I know the club already, because 6 years ago (in 1990) I was there with my bicycle to meet Laurel Aitken and asked him to show up in Lucerne for The Roots Connection.
In the cellar of this very nice place, there is a disco. While upstairs the german Ska band “No Sports” is playing, I’m almost alone downstairs. But after the show, the place is more than full. Later that evening, the band is coming downstairs to skank. Then I take the chance and playing live with my flute over a dub tune from King Size Dub Vol. 1 and that was a great idea. The band members of “No Sports” are coming to my DJ-desk and show me their thumbs up. It is one of my best DJ-shows ever.
Unfortunately I do have no photographs of this event, only this flyer is left. I call myself for this event “Selector Ras Clad Plays Reggae & Ska Around Jah World”.
The cool thing about this event is, that I’m invited to stay in a Hotel nearby the club. I truly feel very comfortable. The audience is greater than great, many people asking me, where I have all those records from… Yes, Thun, I truly miss you. Today it’s 20 years I wasn’t there, what a pity. And Café Mokka is still strong. Find out more about MC Anliker and his Café Mokka here.
There is a little story about my after-show in 1990. After the Laurel Aitken show, I went back home with my bicycle. Take a look at my route and feel free to do so also. Another little detail is, that I started my tour in Thun at 1 AM. And after arriving in Lucerne I went working the next day in the records shop.
This is the route I take by bicycle. I can’t remember, what time I arrived in Lucerne, but I remember, it was a Saturday and I was in the record store at 10 AM until 4 PM and some of the customers where also at the Laurel Aitken show down in Thun at Café Mokka.
Peacestreet is a band from Lucerne, Switzerland (1990-1995) Peacestreet is also the address of our flat (in fact it was René’s) in Lucerne (1989-1996)
What have Peacestreet to do with Skasplash?
Without Peacestreet I would never be a part of the Skasplash. Our band is called “Peacestreet” 1990-1995 (take a look at rootsconnection.ch) (Simon [drums], René [bass], Nonsi [guitar] and I [flute, trombone] are still together as part of Der Transformer). There is one release of Peacestreet on the Benno Riedmann compilation “Skampler 2” and we play shows all around Switzerland.
But the source of our band’s name is the flat René rent from 1989-1996. Located at Friedenstrasse 5 (Friedenstrasse means street of peace). In this flat, we host many of our friends and also all the bands I invited for The Roots Connection events (The Selecter, Laurel Aitken, The Trojans, Bim Skala Bim, Messer Banzani and many others).
Peacestreet decorated for the final event in 1996
This flat “Peacestreet” is also our bands rehearsal place for more than two years. Located inside the touristic center of Lucerne docked on the historic Bourbaki Panorama close to the lions monument. And we lived on the fifth floor as the only living party in this building, because all other floors are used for business only. It is also the host for The Roots Connection from 1994-1996.
Painting on the wall
Various painters produced unique paintings on the walls.
René and Claude at Peacestreet ca. 1993
20 years ago vs. today
And why this post is released today? Because today 20 years ago, we’re celebrating the end of our beloved home. It is some years earlier, when the Attorney for Lucerne city hold his memorable speech about his last wish. He wants to realize a new Bourbaki Panorama. In fact, it is only our house at Friedenstrasse 5, that he wants to destroy. His speech is backed by the KontraSbass Ensemble, with René on bass. He is so close to tell the man, that he’s speaking about his home.
KontraSbass Ensemble with Lucerne Attorney and far right on the black double bass is René
The last event
On september 14 in 1996 we have our very last party in our home at Friedenstrasse 5.
More about our house and our guests is documented on this page here. More about the last event in our house is documented on this page here.
That last event is full of music. At that time there is “The Shame and Skandal family” our bands name. This group is playing in the living room. Beside of that concert, there is my music I c-lect all the day and all the night (I remember René and I went to the Restaurant Rebstock at about 10 o’clock in the morning to finish that party).
I wasn’t really part of this band, but in the background, there is Nonsi and René from Der Transformer.
Today it is the library
The house today is a museum. But the part of it, where we were living is cut away. In the last days of our house, we had some posters outside the balcony.
Our house at Friedenstrasse 5, called Peacestreet… the whole 5th floor was ours
The house today looks like this, there is no fifth floor anymore:
taken from https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bourbaki-Panorama
The guestbook
And here are some pictures with a special background to the Skasplash or The Roots Connection or Peacestreet.
René & Juliette at Peacestreet 1996
I meet Juliette the year before (1995) in Montpellier with The Skatalites. She comes to Lucerne and lives a few days at Peacestreet. In Paris I meet her again as guest of the Skasplash. Here are some of here paintings she did in our guestbook.
Painting by Juliette from guestbook 1996Painting by Juliette from guestbook 1996
Laurel Aitken
Laurel Aitken tour poster with signatures, 1995
Laurel Aitken came to Lucerne two times for The Roots Connection. In 1990 I went to Thun with my bicycle to meet Vin, his manager for the first time. I asked Vin to bring Laurel Aitken to Lucerne. He called me back a few weeks later to offer me The Selecter for their first show in Lucerne. Pauline Black was surprised to play at Sedel with real living cows outside the venue and in a real ex-women’s prison. Laurel Aitken came the year after for the first time, and in 1995 for the second time.
Laurel Aitken flyer from the guestbook 1995
The Trojans
The Trojans flyer and painting from the guestbook 1995
Gaz Mayall was also a guest of The Roots Connection in 1995. This was the first time I met Gaz Mayall personally. I met him later again on the Skasplash tour and in 2000 with Der Transformer at Gaz’s Rockin’ Blues in London (find more on the website).
The Trojans painting from the guestbook 1995
Skarface
Skarface flyer and painting from the guestbook 1995
Also in 1995 I invited Skarface from Paris. On the Skasplash tour I meet Fred from Skarface again.
Maroon Town
Maroon Town (featuring Jeff Lucas) from guestbook 1993
The first time I met Jeff Lucas was with Maroon Town 1993 in Lucerne. In 1994 he came to Berne with House Of Rhythm. The following year we met again in Lucerne.
Ras Claude
My personal guestbook page from 1996
René
René & twin (lol) in peacestreet 1996Living room at Peacestreet 1996René in the living room at Peacestreet 1996
Born, 1st of august in 1931. Today is the swiss national day. As a little present, here is for the first time in 20 years:
The Skasplash promotional videos
The Skatalites – Nelson’s Song
This was recorded in Mailand while The Skatalites were on Europe tour in 1995. I left the tour just the day before this recording. Played my own show in Lucerne and organized a show with House Of Rhythm!
A few months later, the Skatalites management gave me a video cassette, to copy and fade in the titles. At that time, it wasn’t easy to do such things. I found a very nice video store, where I was able to do so. This is the result of a copy of the copied video cassette. I guess, it is the very first publishing of it. There was also an interview from the italian TV and more tunes. On the other video cassette there was the same italian TV show, with Laurel Aitken.
The Skatalites – Interview
Italian TV show “Segnali di fumo” – Interview with Lester Sterling. This example shows beautifully how less information can be told in more than a minute 🙂 What was the question? Excuse the bad sound quality.
Laurel Aitken – Interview
Italian TV show “Segnali di fumo” – Interview with Laurel Aitken. The extra cool answers from the master of performance. Smart Laurel.
Laurel Aitken – Mad About You
Italian TV show “Segnali di fumo” – Laurel Aitken & The Pressure Tennants “Mad About You”. Take notice of Tony Looby on the soprano saxophone. Only Tony will be with Laurel on the Skasplash tour in october and november that same year 1996.
Hope you enjoy these little examples of video material from that year.
With these promotion material the upcoming first Skasplash tour 1996 was promoted. With little patience, you’ll get a lot of never seen before material. Thanks for feedback.
20 years ago, I went for the first time to the Paleo Festival in Nyon, Switzerland. I was invited by The Skatalites. I remember, the show was inna tent. After the show, we went to a Hotel in Nyon, where some polish people blocked our Hotel rooms. It was in the middle of the night, and these heavy men had to leave their rooms. I was aware of a big fight with them. Can’t remember how, but finally everything was fine.
Festival Programm Paleo Festival Nyon 1996My backstage pass
It was a great event, because there was a nice meeting with The Skatalites and Third World. All together on a big large table eating in the backstage area. After that, the Skatalites went on touring Europe.
While Third World performed later that night, I was on stage. Bunny Rugs came to ask me for a cigarette, before he went back on stage.
My very first tour management was with the californian ska band “HEPCAT”. But it ended with a little disaster. The first show in Bimbo Town in Basel was quite empty and the contract I made with the club was stupid, because, there was no money without no paying public. The second show was planned for Lucerne, but there was no promoter ready for this wonderful band. The third show was in Berne at Reithalle. That was a great show, with a great audience. But I went very sick. My fever went very fast very high, and with my very last power I took the train back home, before the show started.
Bimbotown Program July 1996Bimbotown Program inside, July 1996Pressphoto Hepcat 1996
2 days festival with a lotta RootsConnection sounds
Sound System DJ Clad (C-lector) & Marc da Silva (MC)
Tonton David feat. Earl Wire Lindo (Wailers Band)
Cheikha Rimitti: personal handshake
special invitation by Marc NofNof Tourtchaninoff
backstage pass
Have made no pictures of this event. Here are two pictures by NoF-NoF with Cheikha Rimitti from 1996.
