I & I: The Natural Mystics: Marley, Tosh and Wailer [Paperback]

"The main merit of this perceptive work is that, by not making Marley its focus, it gets closer to the truth about him than most other biographers... Colin Grant has composed a highly evocative and original account of a misunderstood group, and the misunderstood man at its core."
--"Literary Review"
" "
"Provides a lively introduction to the life and times of the Wailers and, incidentally, to the neo-African religions and animist cults of beautiful, bedevilled Jamaica."
--"Sunday Times"

The history of the original Wailers - Tosh, Livingstone and Marley - as never before told

Over one dramatic decade, a trio of Trench Town R&B crooners, Peter Tosh, Bunny Wailer and Bob Marley, swapped their 1960s Brylcreem hairdos and two-tone suits for 1970s battle fatigues and dreadlocks to become the Wailers - one of the most influential groups in popular music. Now one of our best and brightest non-fiction writers examines for the first time the story of the Wailers.

Charting their complex relationship, their fluctuating fortunes, musical peak, and the politics and ideologies that provoked their split, Colin Grant shows us why they were not just extraordinary musicians, but also natural mystics. And, following a trail from Jamaica through Europe, America, Africa and back to the vibrant and volatile world of Trench Town, he travels in search of the last surviving Wailer.

Over one dramatic decade, a trio of Trenchtown R&B crooners, Peter Tosh, Bunny Wailer and Bob Marley, swapped their 1960s Brylcreem hairdos and two-tone suits for 1970s battle fatigues and dreadlocks to become the Wailers - one of the most influential groups in popular music.

From youth to early adulthood, they had been inseparable; united in their ambition, through musical harmony and financial reward, to escape Jamaica's Trench Town ghetto. On the cusp of success however, they'd been pulled apart by the elevation of Marley as first among equals and by the razor-sharp instincts of Chris Blackwell, the shrewd and charming boss of Island Records.

I & I: The Natural Mystics examines for the first time the story of the Wailers, arguing that these musicians offered a model for black men in the second half of the twentiethcentury: accommodate and succeed (Marley), fight and die (Tosh) or ret reat and live (Wailer). It charts their complex relationship, their fluctuating fortunes, musical peak, and the politics andideologies that provoked their split.

Following their trail from Jamaica through Europe, America, Africa and back to the vibrant and volatile world of Trench Town, Colin Grant travels in search of the last surviving Wailer. He unravels the roots of their charisma, their adoption of the cult of Rastafari, their suspicion of race pimps and Obeah-men (witch doctors), and illuminates why the Wailers were not just extraordinary musicians, but also natural mystics.

I & I is a remarkable story of creativity, squandered talent and fierce ambitious rivalry - a mix of reportage and revelatory history by one of our best and brightest non-fiction writers.

--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Over one dramatic decade, a trio of Trenchtown R&B crooners, Peter Tosh, Bunny Wailer and Bob Marley, swapped their 1960s Brylcreem hairdos and two-tone suits for 1970s battle fatigues and dreadlocks to become the Wailers - one of the most influential groups in popular music. Now, one of our best and brightest non-fiction writers examines their shared story for the first time.

Charting their complex relationship, their fluctuating fortunes, musical peak, and the politics and ideologies that provoked their split, Colin Grant shows us why they were not just extraordinary musicians, but also natural mystics. And, following a trail from Jamaica through Europe, America, Africa and back to the vibrant and volatile world of Trench Town, we travel in search of the last surviving Wailer.

'The three central characters, the force that they became together and the forces that drove them apart... are more vividly portrayed than in any previous biography' Daily Telegraph

'The myth-making that surrounds the memory of Bob Marley has largely obscured the contribution of his fellow Wailers, "Bunny" Livingston and Peter Tosh. I& I restores these two to their rightful position' New Statesman

'A highly evocative and original account of a misunderstood group, and the misunderstood man at its core' Literary Review

'Provides a lively introduction to the life and times of the Wailers and, incidentally, to the neo-African religions and animist cults of beautiful, bedevilled Jamaica' Sunday Times

'In Grant's hands life in Trench Town in the 1960's is energetic and theatrical, rich in comedy and tragic irony...This brilliant book is not just about Jamaica, but about ourselves' Guardian

'Grant has approached a well worn topic in a lively and different way... rewardingly colourful, often revelatory' Metro

Colin Grant is an independent historian and producer for BBC radio. The son of Jamaican emigrants, he lives in Brighton