In partnership with BFI and Doc’n Roll RUDEBOY is a film about the love affair between Jamaican and British Youth culture, told through the prism of one of the most iconic record labels in history, TROJAN RECORDS.

Combining archive footage, interview and drama, RUDEBOY tells the story of Trojan Records by placing it at the heart of a cultural revolution that unfolded in the council estates and dance floors of late 1960’s and early 1970’s Britain, and how that period of immigration and innovation transformed popular music and culture.

Told by a cast of legendary artists including Lee Scratch Perry, Toots Hibbert, Ken Boothe, Neville Staple, Marcia Griffiths, Dave Barker, Dandy Livingstone, Lloyd Coxsone, Pauline Black, Derrick Morgan and more. Watch the trailer here:

In winning the festival’s Best Music Documentary 2018 honours, Nicholas Jack Davies’ film received a ringing endorsement from the Doc’n Roll jury comprised of musicians, music lovers and music industry pioneers.

Jury member Geoff Travis, founder of Rough Trade Records, says: “I suppose it’s the history of my life, to a large degree, in London, and even more so for my [Rough Trade] business partner, Jeannette Lee, who grew up in North London; all of her schoolmates and playmates were West Indian, and those were the records she listened to, along with Motown and pop. That era of Jamaican music is pretty unbeatable, and music that we still listen to every day.

“To me, Rudeboy is about something very dear to my heart, and the film itself really resonated. I thought that having actors recreate many of those moments, and hearing from the original people as well, was great. And it was wonderful to see people who tend not to be talked about in music histories, like Derek Morgan, on screen. Rudeboy was an education and also a history lesson for me, but most of all it is just a really vibrant movie. It makes you really realise why you love music in the first place.”

Doc’n Roll Film Festival is supported by the BFI using funds from the National Lottery to grow audience appetite and enjoyment for a wide range of independent British and international films.

The film will be followed by a post-screening discussion, and we’ll be celebrating the music of Trojan Records with a guest DJ in the bar afterwards.