Red Stripes

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Biography

Detroit Town, Jamaica, where crime runs through life, where the incessant rhythms of the sound systems fill the streets, where people sing in church till they have an orgasm (thank you Lord). Punky-reggae was born and grew in these slums, they gave it birth and they gave it life.



Every day hundreds of kids flock into the slums of Detroit Town from the hillsides of Jamaica, drawn by the promise of the transistor. The Red Stripes were two of those kids, and that promise is at the root of their music. You see, the one escape from the slum that leads upwards is the dream of making it as a tribute act (or as an international Yardie drug lord).



Drummer Reggae Zellweger and guitarist/vocalist Black White first met at a family reunion and were married shortly thereafter. Unfortunately not long into the marriage and much to their horror, they discovered a dark family secret: they were brother and sister. This was quite a no-no in Detroit Town’s strict Caribbean church community so the marriage was quickly dissolved, though the love between the siblings endured.



They first heard the music of The White Stripes while enjoying life’s pleasures sitting on the banks of the rivers of Babylon, listening to far away radio stations streaming down the Internet. As the music of Jack & Meg played, the clouds began to part and the voice of the almighty Jah boomed, “Black White! Reggae Zellweger! You must spread a message of peace and love by playing this music. But…make it reggae mon!”



Soon rehearsals began and through gigging in the violent dancehalls of Detroit Town, The Red Stripes scrapped together the funds to fly to England where they’d heard word that The White Stripes had sold a million records. The British welcomed them with open arms; after their London debut, style mag The Face ran a piece on them and the reggae loving 1977 punk fraternity smiled upon them. First The Clash drummer Terry Chimes gave them his blessings. Then they opened for & backed one time Sex Pistol/one time game show host Ed Tenpole Tudor. Even Simon LeBon of Duran Duran got in on things, plugging The Red Stripes in America’s SPIN magazine. And their greatest reggae accolades came from none other than The Wailers, after playing a festival in Serbia together (surprisingly they’d never bumped into The Wailers back home in Jamaica).



Inspired by their meeting with The Wailers, The Red Stripes decided to further spread the word of Rastafari through releasing an album, Elephantitus - which is a White Stripes ‘best of’ done in a reggae stylee. Brutally honest. Raw and visceral. Like the testicular disease that it is named after, it is all these. Released digitally by Universal Music, it can be best found on iTunes. (Note: the UK version of the album is called Let’s Change Positions Satan.)



Black White is currently serving time in Jamaica for sleeping with his sister, but soon he’ll be out and back on the road with Reggae Zellweger, coming to a stage near you.



Rastafarout!



For more info, check out www.redstripes.co.uk



Red Stripes Megamix Video



“Foremost amongst White Stripes tribute bands”

MOJO



“Is this Jack ‘I don’t do drugs’ White’s worst nightmare?”

The Face



“What a racket! Great!”

Terry Chimes, The Clash



“You might call it novelty, but we call it innovation.”

Classic Rock Magazine



“Couldn’t get a ticket for The White Stripes? Who cares, when you’ve got the Red Stripes!”

Metro



“A tongue-in-cheek soiree”

The Guardian



“Musically it’s not crap. 8/10”

Unbarred.co.uk



“My brain just melted…this is either the best or worst idea in the world”

Stylus Magazine



“The best tribute since Dread Zeppelin.”

Zeitgeist



“The Red Stripes are essentially Jack and Meg if they’d spent more time listening to Jimmy Cliff instead of dirty blues 45s”

ThisIsFakeDIY.com