Steel Pulse were formed in 1975 in Birmingham, England,
specifically the ghetto area of Handsworth. The founding members were schoolmates David Hinds (the primary songwriter as well
as the lead singer and guitarist), Basil Gabbidon (guitar), and Ronnie "Stepper" McQueen (bass). All of them came from poor
West Indian immigrant families.
Steel Pulse were one of Britain's greatest reggae bands,
rivaled only by Aswad in terms of creative and commercial success. Generally a protest-minded Rastafarian outfit, Steel Pulse
started out playing authentic roots reggae. Their 1978 debut, Handsworth Revolution, is still regarded by many critics
as a landmark and a high point of British reggae. As the '80s wore on, slick synthesizers and elements of dance and urban
R&B gradually crept into their sound, even as their subject matter stayed on the militant side.
From 1985 to 2008 Steel
Pulse produced over 15 Albums, with the latest CD being the African Holocaust. The African Holocaust CD was a significant
CD because no other music group has correctly identified the horrific experience that Black African people have gone through
the past 500 years world-wide as the African Holocaust. The African Holocaust was followed by Steel Pulse DVD Door of NO Return that was released
in 2008. The Steel Pulse DVD highlighted the group's journey back to Gory Island (where Africans were shipped
out to face slavery) with live concert clips from Senegal
and US tours.
