Marcus Garvey Did A Show Them... Interview with Claudius Linton.

Q: So what became of the Hoffner Brothers after that track?

A: Well, after that the group had split, this man take his way and I take my own way. And I did some recordings, a lot of songs, in the seventies, in the eighties. I've done a lot of songs. And you will hear them, 'Reach Out', this one called 'Third World', 'Star Wars' at Dynamics, I've been recording quite a lot of songs. But you know what happened to me? Something happened to me in the eighties, that I was so badly hurt. And there were two German ladies that take my tapes from behind my back at the house, take it from the kids, and run off with it! With my mixed down tapes, to Germany! Yes.

Q: I see, a major setback. But after recording for Shalimar and the group split up... By the way, why did you call it the 'Hoffner Brothers' before anything else?

A: Hoffner Brothers? Well, because a guitar was given to me. There was a man called Carl Silvera, these were the Silvera brothers that used to have the Selecta Company. I was a good friend to (the late JBC host) Neville Willoughby's sister that is married to this guy called Carl Silvera, so he find this guitar in his junk-room (giggles). So when I look at it its called 'Hoffner Brothers', a Hoffner guitar, so I jus' called ourselves the Hoffner Brothers. Because that's where I wrote the 'Kingman Is Back' now and get ready to go into the rehearsals and for the festival.

Q: Everything seems to have some sort of story behind it.

A: It is, sir. And to be the Angelic Brothers, it was like... we both were stealing the energy coming from the sky down there to us, like the way Jonah opened his hand when he was eleven. And it's the same thing with us where we opened our hands and that's what we call ourseleves. And we could feel the power coming into us, the thrill of reality, so now we called ourselves the Angelic Brothers.

Q: Did you still link with Cecil Hemmings after the group got apart?

A: Yeah, we met many times after that. But then I went into this family affair business, having a lot of children around me, and he didn't have any. (Chuckles) So that was one of the things too. But we met many times after that and tried to get him back to work, but he only work when there's any money, where he's really in need.

Q: Also, wasn't Junior Byles on the same festival slot back in '72? I seem to remember something that he was there that year.

A: Junior Byles? He was on the same festival too.

Q: You remember his song?

A: (Silence) He sing a song... while I can't... (sings): 'Ooh Nanny Nanny Ooh, Ooh Nanny Nanny Ooh...' (laughs). I forget, but I know it was for Lee 'Scratch' Perry. That was his entry.

Claudius Linton

Q: After the group was no more, you decided to try a thing on your own, and I believe you formed your own label at this time. There's a 45 called 'Hail A Man'...

A: (Laughs) That's me, that's me! I make my own label, y'know.

Q: The Lion label.

A: I was very... but guess what happened, sir? The Chineyman, these people that own the record company, this studio and these blah blah, they had me and robbed me. Because I don't have any connections and they have all the connections, that's why... But I really get my own label from a guy called Jackson. Jacko Gordon, that's a very good friend to me, he used to do all the printing for the LBC or whatever.

Q: That track is credited to someone called W. Holder.

A: Holder, yes. That was a fake Rastaman, a fake Rasta, and I do it for him.

Q: But he stood behind the production anyhow?

A: Yes. This song called 'Reach Out', I produced that one. I did producing on a lot of the songs.

Q: But there was another title on the Lion label called 'When I Drape You'.

A: Yes I, yes. For the same guy.

Q: So then you basically had had enough of rip-offs, working with others, and formed your own company, Peacemakers, at that time?

A: Yeah, yeah.

Q: And the Black Star imprint, or simply 'Black Star Label', that was another one.

A: Yeah, or the Black Star label. Then Ocho Rios Talent Productions start workin' with the Black Star label, which is my label. Ocho Rios Talent Productions, they financed the label.

Q: So you didn't go back and forth between the city and the countryside, you had moved over from Kingston to Ocho Rios at that point?

A: Yes, yes, that's right. So then I start workin' for this man called Jack Ruby, this one 'Chun 'Pon Nanny', and '(Reduce The) Arms Race'.

Q: Those two came out later, in the eighties.

A: Yes.

Q: What did things like the early songs, 'Hail A Man' and 'Let Me Dream', did they do anything on the market at the time, or they just vanished?

A: That I don't know, I don't know what's going on. Because, you see, I wasn't travelling at that time, and things were very bad with us. So I didn't even know what's happening out there with these things. All I know that through I had my copyright and I got some royalties from PRS.

Claudius Linton
(Photo courtesy Peter Sharpe)

Q: Apparently, if we continue talking the releases of some of the songs, where they ended up in the jungle called the music business. 'Let Me Dream' came out in England on the Grape label for instance.

A: And that's me! I record 'Let Me Dream' for ourselves!

Q: On the Peacemaker mark, right.

A: For me!

Q: So somebody had the nerve... stole it, same old piracy.

A: Yeah! What label it came on?

Q: It was on the Grape imprint. Trojan subsidiary.

A: (Laughs) This music business...

Q: That period, when you recorded some of your best songs, 'Backra Massa', 'Put Your Shoulder To Jah Wheel' and 'Crying Time', Burning Spear was very much happening at that time, the 'in' sound. What was the inspiration for someone like you, 'sharing' the same sound so to speak, when Spear burst on the scene at that point? 'Marcus Garvey' in particular.

A: You know what happened? That's how he got that sound... I just step back, that's how I get my whole setback when those guys come on the scene, Culture and Burning Spear.

Q: In what way?

A: But they had a meeting... Culture and Mrs Pottinger, the manager for Culture, they came to Ocho Rios to see my manager Pat Burke, to have me to sign up with the group called Culture. And they have a big problem that I should join with this group, but I did not. So these guys they would even want to slice me and all those kind of things. You know, it was a thing whe stink, I tell you. In those days it was like a big thing, with producers trying to corner you an' these t'ings. But I know I influenced Burning Spear a lot because they only wanted one and they won away with that. There's a man called Spain, I had this guy from Jack Ruby, he knows the full history of what happened with Jack Ruby, when I was there. Most of the time Jack Ruby called me to rehearse, they would have a tape recorder to record whatever I'm singin' and then they going to keep the ideas for Burning Spear.

Q: Is that true?

A: Yes man! Yeah man, there's proof even when you don't hear these t'ings from me, you hear it from guys that used to do all the business for Jack Ruby. And they're the same guys that spend time with and record Burning Spear, it's a long, big history.

Q: If that's correct then that's a big rip-off for sure.

A: Yes I, yes I. But along the way of rip-offs, y'know, whatever, as a man you have to focus on the long-term working job, and you make your mind up to keep on pressing on. And you no watch what these guys do, because you've got ideas and energy. And you've got man like Ian Jones, which is a spiritual man that come to me, that shining on me and I'm shining on him, so these are the past things, those little things. We're looking ahead, y'know.

Claudius Linton

Q: That's fine. I've been lucky to find a few of your gems, things like 'Backra Massa' and 'Crying Time', both were recorded on the same session?

A: No, no. I record one... There's a lawyer (manager, mainly for Bob Marley) called Don Taylor. And I was at Joe Gibbs' studio recording 'Backra Massa', and Don Taylor stopped the session, with Joe Gibbs, and said I should go down to Church Street and join the Performance Rights Society. Because they thought it was Burning Spear, a belong to the group Burning Spear, knowing that Burning Spear had tracks with Chris Blackwell. So they stop me. And I went humbly and come back and finish recording the session. Now, the next one, which is 'Crying Time', I've done that up by Randy's.

Q: Who played on those two sessions?

A: Well, I had Chinna (lead guitar), I had Easy Snappin' (piano), Ansel Collins on keyboard, and I had this drummer called... ah...

Q: Horsemouth?

A: No, no, not Horsemouth. This drummer is Johnny Clarke brother.

Q: 'Fish' Clarke? (Eric 'Fish' Clarke).

A: Clarke, that's right!

Q: He was also a singer.

A: (Laughs) Yeah man, 'Fish' Clarke. And on trombone, I always had these guys like 'Trommie', Trommie which I met in Trench Town too.

Q: Vin Gordon?

A: 'Don Drummonds Junior' there. Yeah, good friend of the family. So we used to work together very closely (chuckles).

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