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Bob Marley's dad was a white British soldier




Thirty-one years after the reggae legend’s death, the royal met Bob’s family during a trip to the Caribbean island earlier this year.

Bob, who died in 1981 aged just 36, is the subject of a brutally honest and brilliant new Hollywood documentary, Marley.

It explores Robert Nesta Marley’s extraordinary rise to fame as well as his equally fascinating private life.

The music icon’s wife Rita, 66, has bared her soul in the film, alongside all the people who knew him best.

She met Harry when he visited last month and sensed he had a similar “rebel” spirit to her late husband.

Speaking a stone’s throw from where the Rastafarian star grew up in Trench Town in capital Kingston, she smiled: “Prince Harry embodies the spirit of Bob Marley.

“The Prince was engaging, he was warm. He had real spirit. He was a charming young man. He’s a militant.

“I see that military side to him. But as we would call him, or Bob would say, he seemed to be a rebel too.”

Rita met music fan Harry during his tour of the country. And she said he was full of questions about her husband’s legacy.

She said: “He was asking me about the music, asking me about Bob Marley. He said he was a fan.

“He said to me we need to have another Bob Marley. I was reassuring him, telling him that the Marleys were still winning Grammys.

“His sons Stephen, Ziggy and Damian are doing a lot. They are right up there. Ky-mani and Julian too.

“And then their kids are coming. All of them are playing drums or doing something musical.

“The tradition is living on. We are not forcing it, it’s a natural thing.”

Like Prince Harry, Bob had a real eye for the ladies.

And his appetite for female company is explained in a way you least expect from a Hollywood production, especially considering family members were given executive producer titles.

Founder of legendary reggae label Island Records, Chris Blackwell, who propelled Bob Marley And The Wailers to superstardom, was also key in making the film happen.

But he refused to stand in the way of the more controversial parts, even when he was in the firing line.

At one point reggae star Bunny Wailer refers to him as “Chris Whitewell”, suggesting he was just another white man cashing in on slavery.

There are lighter moments, though. Reggae star Desmond Dekker reveals how Bob very nearly became “Adam Marley” when they discussed changing his name to something more appropriate for the stage.

The truth about Bob’s white British father, Norval Sinclair Marley — who died when Bob was ten — is explained in detail for the first time, too. The film disputes previous claims that he was a naval captain and suggests he was a private in the British Army who was originally from Liverpool. He was living in Jamaica, working on the plantations.

Researchers also concluded that Norval got Bob’s mum, Cedella Booker, pregnant when she was only 16, despite him being around 60 — a huge age difference of 44 years. Previously the age gap was thought to be smaller. The film reveals how Norval got another young black girl pregnant around the same time.

The biopic Senna, which was released last year to critical acclaim, danced around the Brazilian Formula One ace’s bed-hopping antics.

But Bob’s wife and children confront their dad’s own adultery head-on.

There are some jaw-dropping moments as his nearest and dearest shed tears about how he came to have 12 kids by seven women.

Rita said: “It’s a really personal thing for me. I have my memories that no one else can share. The first time we got together as a couple to make love, share that love and that first kiss. All of that, I still have that feeling. It’s a clear memory that won’t ever leave me.

“He was no angel back then, but there was understanding. I don’t even want to call this documentary a film. It is more than that.

“To me, Bob was more than a superstar but it’s good people get an idea of the real man.

“This film is maybe only just part one. There is more to come. We are just slowly telling the story of Bob.”

Bob’s HQ during the 1970s was on Hope Road in Kingston. It quickly became an open-house for guests to discuss Rastafari and politics, as well as share his other two passions — marijuana and football.

The property, where Bob was shot in 1976, is now a museum and popular tourist attraction.

During the film Bob’s eldest daughter Cedella, 44, struggles through her tears as she recalls her childhood. Her brother Ziggy, 43, doesn’t hold back either.

He said: “Dad was a hard man. His heart can be hard as stone or as soft as water.”

Speaking before the premiere of Marley in Emancipation Park on Thursday, Cedella said: “It was good that somebody did ask the difficult questions for the film.

“I liked the documentary and was happy with it. I have to be honest and say that I couldn’t watch all of it. It was just too difficult in parts. Everybody walks away from this learning something else about Dad, even I did.

“It was a true account of him as a man, I think.

“As humans, we experience the same things. Because of celebrity, people think the grief might be greater or less when you lose someone, but the emotions are the same. He was still my dad.

“Sometimes I feel happy when I watch him, sometimes I feel sad — but never indifferent.

“My dad’s laughter is what I will always remember. When he wasn’t singing, he was laughing a lot. Especially around all of us, the children.

“Running barefoot on the beach with him. I will never forget that. It’s slightly strange talking about my dad in the film, but, you know, this is for Dad. This is for him.

“He wrote a song Nice Time about me, which is so special. It’s still my nickname to this day.

“I would love anyone who sees this film to learn something new and to come away feeling inspired.

“Daddy came from Nine Miles village and look at him now. It’s a message to anyone who thinks they can’t do it — especially for kids. If Bob Marley can do it, you can do it.

“He is as relevant today as he was 30 years ago. What he was saying remains strong.”

The story of his tragic death from cancer is gripping, as is the explanation of his devout following of the Rastafari religion and his connection with Africa.

The film, which is in UK cinemas now, and the soundtrack — out on Monday — are guaranteed to top the charts. Make the pilgrimage to the cinema to see it and you won’t be disappointed.

Leaving the last word to Rita, she declared: “There are a lot of great musicians in the world, but there is only, and will only ever be, one Bob Marley.

“We might find someone one day to do what he was doing musically, but there is only one Bob.

“His spirit has spread across the world.”

 - www.thesun.co.uk

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