First there were the hits, then there was the legacy, then there was the reunion, then there was the short film. And now there is the Feature film, the album and the Golden Anniversary Tour.

Featuring three (3) of the founder members - Anthony Brightly, Desmond Mahoney and Chris Hanson – Black Slate are bringing their Golden Anniversary Train to a venue near you soon.

Arguably one of the biggest hidden gems of Black British history is the story of Black Slate. Formed in 1972 as schoolchildren, the band’s history is peppered by a veritable calendar  of firsts and achievements.

To start with, the core members were first generation British born children of Caribbean parentage. At that time most youngsters of what would become known as the Windrush generation were born in the Caribbean and relocated to the UK at a very young age.

Their debut hit ‘Sticksman’, was reportedly a million seller across Europe notably hitting the pop top tens of countries like Belgium, Luxembourg and  Holland. Sticksman is cited by many as the first Black British social commentary hit loved by Black youth and the then burgeoning punk rockers alike. Their next major hit, Amigo, repeated the feat whilst also hitting in the UK and spawning a World Tour which included Australasia.

Cutting their teeth as a backing band at the seminal Phoebe’s Club in East London they would go on to contribute to perennial classics like Pablo Gad’s ‘Hard Times’ and Carroll Thompson’s ‘I’m So Sorry’.

Desmond Mahoney would go on to become one of the most sought after session musicians in Britain. Chris Hanson would go on to be one of the most important cogs in the furtherance of the UK Musical genres from Lovers Rock to Jungle, Grime and sound system culture with his dub cutting, galvanic plant, mastering studio and pressing plant. Anthony Brightly would go on to become one of the leading players in the UK music scene as a record producer with his own Sir George label, Sound system and as a Club owner and promoter.

The road to this Golden Anniversary was started when the band reformed and toured the America’s, UK and Australasia in 2017. In 2021 they released a short film ‘The Sticksman Record’ about the creation of their debut hit as a precursor to a feature film about the band and now this World Tour.