Reading skills - BOB MARLEY'S LEGEND LIVES ON

     Bob Marley died fifteen years ago this year. Today he is remembered by millions all over the world, not only for his music, but also for his beliefs and his work for peace.

     Marley was the first superstar from the Third World. He was born in 1945 in the rural north of Jamaica, and brought up by his mother. Later they settled in a poor district of Kingston, the capital.

     Poverty as well as ambition drove Bob to make music, and escape from the ghetto. His professional career began in 1962 when he made his first single. He and his group, at first called the Wailing Wailers, soon became a sensation in Jamaica and everywhere in the Caribbean. They identified with the rebellious youth of the Kingston slums. But soon Marley's life was to be changed by a new influence.

     In the early '60s, the Rastafarian movement was growing in Jamaica. The Rastafarians believed that eventually all black people would return to their homeland of Africa. Marley was becoming more and more interested in this religion, and from 1967 his music reflected this.

     At the start of the '70s, the Wailers were still unknown internationally. But in 1971, while visiting Britain, they signed a contract with Island Records in London. The deal was unique for a Jamaican reggae band. They were given a big advance and access to the best recording equipment. By 1975, when the single No Woman No Cry reached the charts, they had conquered Britain. There was nothing else like their music. When the Wailers returned to Jamaica in November they were greeted as superstars.

     Bob Marley now had great influence among the youth of Jamaica, and many followed his Rastafarian beliefs. But his country was troubled by political violence. Towards the end of 1976, he announced a free concert in Kingston to promote peace. At the same time, the Government announced an election. The violence grew worse. On the night before his concert, gunmen broke into Marley's house and shot at him. But the next day, he stood on the stage and played a short set, even though he was wounded and still in danger from the gangs.

     In 1978 Marley played another big peace concert in Jamaica, and was awarded the Third World Peace Medal by the United Nations. In the years that followed, Wailers records were more and more successful. The future looked bright for Bob Marley. But in winter, during a tour of America, he was taken seriously ill. Doctors diagnosed cancer. For eight months he fought the disease, but the battle was too much. He died in a Miami hospital on Monday May 11, 1981.

(CLUB, 1996)

Which statements are true (YES) and which are false (NO)?

 

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