¥BOBMARLEY'STWOcon-
certsattheLyceumThe-
atre in London in July
1975 were more than just
musically transcendent
shows: They were the tri-
umphantpeakofMarley’s
firstpropertourasasolo
artist and would elevate
himfromcultacttoin-
ternational icon – in part
thanks toLive!, a concert
documentfromtheshows
thatgavehimhisfirstin-
ternationalTop40hit,
“NoWoman,NoCry”.
“Lyceumwasmagic,”re-
callsMarley’sfriendNev-
ille Garrick, the Wail-
ers’ lighting designer and
artdirectoratthetime.
“Itwasanoldtheatre,so
the acoustics were prop-
er....They took out all the
seats,andpeoplewere
goingfromtheveryfirst
song.”Bookedinasmall
room to drive up tick-
et demand, the Lyceum
showssoldoutinaday,
and roughly 3,000 ticket-
less hopefuls mobbed the
streets outside the venue
on Marley’s first night
there, along with a pha-
lanx of cops. Some fans
nevertheless managed to
tear the fire doors off their
hingesandrushin,pack-
ing the room tighter still,
shoulder to shoulder. It
wassohot,condensation
wasdrippingfromtheceil-
ing, and roof hatches had
to be opened to let air in.
Marley appeared before
the crowd like a proph-
et in a denim work shirt,
dreadlocks bobbing, and
few moments in pop are
as spine-tingling as the
openingof“NoWoman,
No Cry”, the audience
chanting the chorus like
ahymnbeforeMarleyhad
evensungaword.Recalled
bassistAstonBarrett,“Ev-
eryone onstage [got] high
from the feedback of the
people.” WILL HERMES
JULY 17-18, 1975
THE LYCEUM THEATRE, LONDON BOBMARLEY
62 | Rolling Stone | RollingStoneAus.com July, 2017
GREATEST
50 CONCERTSGETTY IMAGESMarley
in 1975