Roots and Resurrection

Pop quiz: What is Steel Pulse? A. A name for a steel pan drum. B. A tool you can buy at Home Depot. C. A has-been reggae band.If your answer was C, congratulations, pat yourself on the back and go buy yourself a Red Stripe to celebrate.

But if you’re David Hinds, lead singer of Steel Pulse, you know that most people will choose option A or B, and that doesn’t sit well. The band that once motivated a generation in the United Kingdom with its powerful protest reggae has been relegated to has-been status and is nearly unknown among dancehall fans, despite a recent Grammy nomination for best reggae album.

“If you walk the streets of Birmingham right now and you say ‘Steel Pulse,’ somebody would say, ‘Hang on, are they still together?’” Hinds said in a recent phone interview from his London digs. “After a recent TV documentary, people were gob-smacked that we were still together. We’re not that popular here.”

But Steel Pulse’s roots-reggae beats haven’t weakened a bit in the past 30 years. In a market where dancehall rhythms monopolize the airwaves, the band has managed to remain relevant with older listeners and is slowly gaining a new audience with progressive younger fans returning to reggae acts of their parents’ generation.

Originally published in the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. Full version available upon request.