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nce upon a time there was no So for what they repeatedly insist will
iTunes. There were no iPods, or be one year only, Edward II are back,
Red Bull, or Sat Nav, or Strictly spreading their multicultural message of
Come Dancing, or Harry Potter, goodwill to all men, women and wilde-
or Facebook. There were beests, skanking up the English tradition
mobile phones but they were as big as a as only they can. As soon as word got out
house, but those were the days when you that they were back, the summer festivals
only had to take out two mortgages to were falling over themselves to book
buy a tank of petrol and ‘online’ was an them, a compilation The Definitive Collec-
expression used for fishing. tion Of Edward II is released on 8 June and
The glorious 1990s, eh? An era when
they’re planning to record some brand
Oasis and Blur scrapped it out in the music
new tracks for an EP that’ll hopefully be
mags, the Soviet Union was disintegrating,
ready to release in time for a UK tour
Bill Clinton was blowing his sax in the
through the autumn. Their first comeback/
White House, Dana International won the
second farewell tour, as it happens. That’s
Eurovision Song Contest and Edward II
the plan anyway…
ruled. It was a bonkers notion – everyone “I love this band,” says Glen Latouche
knew that the idea of a band setting
wistfully in the fading light of the Leices-
English traditional music to reggae beats
ter afternoon. “I’ve missed playing with
and grooves was preposterous and could-
these guys and creating the atmosphere
n’t possibly work. Oddly enough, though,
we do at gigs. Of all the bands I’ve worked
everyone was wrong. People danced, peo-
in, I’ve never been as happy as in this one.
ple sang, people laughed like drains and
Everyone in the band is so easy to work
left with smiles almost as big as those on
with. So I’m looking forward to us knock-
the faces of the band members themselves.
ing them dead. Proving that even after ten
And then, on 19 November 1999, they
years we’re still a good band… maybe we
played a joyous, triumphant concert in
can even rise above the levels we had
front of a full house at the De Montfort
before. We want to go back to the old
Hall in the fair city of Leicester, said cheery
haunts and have fun… it was always about
bye at the end of it and that was it. After a
fun in this band.”
12-year reign, Edward II abdicated. Thank
Glen is the perfect symbol of the cul-
you and goodnight – end of story.
ture clash that made Edward II so
But here we are, ten years later, back
enthralling in the first place. His parents
in Leicester, discussing the old times, and
came to England from Jamaica during the
new times, about why they split. And why
post-Windrush influx of the sixties and set-
they’ve now got back together.
tled in Huddersfield. It was a predominantly
white area, but one happily devoid of racial
Today they’ve been treating the good
tensions and the family found no problem
people of Leicester to some morris danc-
integrating with the local community.
ing. With uniforms and everything. Apart
Raised on his father’s collection of classic
from the odd drunk keen to get involved,
Dennis Brown, Gregory Isaacs and Winston
Leicester didn’t take much notice of them
Groovy LPs, Glen knew nothing of English
– it just kept its head down, averted its
traditional music. He still didn’t when he
eyes and crossed its tail. But their tall, affa-
moved to Manchester and started singing
ble singer Glen Latouche, who reluctantly
with various reggae bands and he still did-
donned the whites but drew the line at
n’t when his mate, drummer Alton Zebby,
dressing up as St George, still appears
saw a newspaper ad from a folk band look-
shell-shocked by the experience.
ing for a reggae drummer and, on a whim,
Have you ever morris danced before, applied. Alton got the job as drummer with
Glen? “No.” Would you again? “Not in a Edward II & The Red Hot Polkas and a curi-
hurry…” ous Latouche tagged along as unofficial
The others convulse in laughter. Plenty
roadie. He still visibly reels as he recalls the
has changed in the intervening decade but
shock of that first Edward II experience in
the old chemistry is there and the music is
those early days of 1990.
as warm and welcoming as it ever was. “I’ll never forget the first place I went
Folk-reggae – daft term, crazy idea. to with them, a place called… South
Nobody had done it before. Nobody has Petherton. I felt like I was back in a time
done it since. So why not do it again? It warp. I felt like… an alien. All these morris
still sounds great. dancers all over the place; I’d never seen
Mixing English traditional music with reggae was a
bonkers notion that turned Edward II into the festival
kings of the 1990s. Colin Irwin hears why they’re back
for just one year. 2009 photos: Judith Burrows.
The Second Coming
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