Capital Letters

Capital Letters

Capital Letters are a reggae group from the United Kingdom, originally formed in Wolverhampton, England and later based in Shepherds Bush, Middlesex after a move in 1977. They are active from 1978 to the present and have had the line-up of Stewart Barrington, Junior Brown, Roderick Garvey, Dalton Harvey, Ray Louis, Danny McKen, Corbert Scarlett and Wenty Stewart.

Early releases and Greensleeves

The group become one of the first signings to Greensleeves, and their single Smoking My Ganja gains wide play on UK sound systems in 1978. That release leads them into the studio for a full-length album.

Headline News

Their album Headline News is Greensleeves’ seventh release and is regarded as one of the more critically acclaimed reggae records of 1979. The record mixes African, Jamaican and English influences, and its lyrics cover religion, marijuana legalisation and the rule of Idi Amin.

Band line-up and sound

Capital Letters are a large ensemble, with eight members, and at one point add another guitarist-vocalist for a 1979 John Peel radio session. The group includes four vocalists, two drummers, one of whom also plays conga, and two percussionists. In Jamaica, brass and organ also help fill out the arrangements.

Later work

After Headline News, the band release one further album, Vineyard, on a minor German label in 1982. That album remains rarely available, and the group also issue a small number of 12-inch releases.