Smiley Culture

Smiley Culture, Papa Levi and Asher Senator: Three Baad DJ

Profile and Interview by Paul Bradshaw, New Musical Express, 4 August 1984

A NEW GENERATION OF BLACK BRITISH TOASTERS ARE SETTING THE PACE OF REGGAE RUNNINGS. SMILEY CULTURE, PAPA LEVI AND ASHER SENATOR TALK IN DOUBLE TIME TO PAUL BRADSHAW. ...

Smiley Culture & Bobby Boom: Dingwalls, London

Live Review by Jack Barron, Sounds, 5 January 1985

THE INTERPRETER of reggae mirth who says he MCs not for treasure but for pleasure inverted frowns to dental crowns, sore feet to blue beat, ...

Smiley Culture: 1st Offender

Interview by Sean O'Hagan, New Musical Express, 2 February 1985

NAME: Smiley Culture CHARGE: Dread Bodily Harm SENTENCE: A Spell in the Charts REPORT: Sean O'Hagan ...

The Cool Notes, Smiley Culture, Asher Senator, Pato Banton, Five Star: Hammersmith Palais, London

Live Review by William Shaw, Smash Hits, 22 May 1985

"All Dayers" have been going for years. They're marathon sessions of dancing to reggae and soul records with live appearances from the singers who made ...

Smiley Culture: Confessions of a Reformed Used Car Salesman

Interview by Stuart Bailie, Record Mirror, 23 August 1986

SMILEY CULTURE is still one of the flyest blokes south of the Thames... But he's got a bit serious with it as well ...

Smiley Culture: Pop-up Toaster

Interview by Colin Irwin, Melody Maker, 6 September 1986

Colin Irwin takes a trip into childhood with Tulse Hill's favourite son, SMILEY CULTURE. ...

Motormouth Dub: Smiley Culture/Pato Banton

Profile by Richard Gehr, The Village Voice, 16 September 1986

Some warp-speed world we live in, eh? It’s lucky we’ve got fast-forward buttons on our VCRs, quick-check lines at the A&P, automatic banking, speed-racer drugs, ...

Smiley Culture: Tongue In Cheek (Polydor)

Review by Lucy O'Brien, New Musical Express, 11 October 1986

FROM CHRONICLING his days playing conkers at Tulse Hill Secondary School to running up against police officers Smiley has always been the charmer cheeking his ...

Smiley Culture: Word Party, Y'all

Interview by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 22 November 1986

Rabbit on, SMILEY CULTURE! STEVEN WELLS ties tongues wiv the mouf movin' fast frew the language barriers. ...

Mark Paytress Meets Smiley Culture On The Cusp Of Fame, 1984

Interview by Mark Paytress, Rock's Backpages, March 2011

AS BRITAIN'S first successful MC, whose fast, fluid style had more in common with rap than reggae, Smiley Culture's place in history is assured. He ...

A Wild Feeling: The Vital Legacy Of Saxon Sound 


Retrospective by Neil Kulkarni, The Quietus, 26 August 2014

Commissioned by Kevin Martin as part of our Bug Week, Neil Kulkarni writes about the power, potency and legacy of the UK's premier dancehall sound ...

When British Reggae Was King

Retrospective and Interview by David Burke, Classic Pop, June 2019

Reggae may have been born in Jamaica, but it grew up in '80s Britain at a time of evolving multiculturalism, finding an unlikely ally in ...