Northland promoter recalls reggae legend Jimmy Cliff when he played here

When reggae superstar Jimmy Cliff came to the Bay of Islands in 2018, he received a rapturous reception. His visit left lifelong memories for those that met him, with the Jamaican legend dying on November 24. Photo / NZME

Jimmy Cliff was one of the world’s biggest reggae stars with a career spanning five decades when he came to Northland to perform in 2018.

It was a concert that Northland reggae fans had been waiting for, but not really expecting, as the Jamaican was then approaching 70 and was winding down his gigging around the world.

But in a supreme coup, one that was several years in the making, Jackie Sanders, from Jacman Entertainment, managed to get the reggae icon to headline the Bay of Islands Music Festival on March 31 that year.

Cliff died on November 24, sparking international mourning and tributes to the man dubbed one of the greatest lyricists in the world. His work was so well recognised that Bob Dylan named Cliff’s song Vietnam the greatest protest song ever – a supreme accolade from one of the world’s greatest protest singers.

Many Northland music fans were lucky enough to see the reggae great perform live when he appeared as the headline act at the Bay of Islands Festival in March 2018.

It was a hard road to get Cliff to Waitangi for the show, as cancelled flights meant he was in danger of missing the event, but those waiting weren’t going anywhere, and he managed to arrive to get in a good hour-plus show.

Sanders, the Bay of Islands events promoter, was saddened to hear of Cliff’s passing and recalls what a lovely man he was and the “legendary” efforts to get him to the 2018 festival, which also saw Northlander, Teeks, Katchafire, Tami Neilson and Bobby Alu perform to a crowd of thousands.

Bay of Islands events promoter Jackie Sanders, from Jacman Entertainment, remembers when she managed to get the late reggae legend Jimmy Cliff to play at Waitangi in 2018. Photo / NZME

“He was a reggae icon, and so much more. He was the most incredible showman on the stage, offstage he was gentle, funny, humble and the last two times we met, quite frail. We helped him on to the stage and once on there, something took over him. He bounced around like a teen, legs flying in the air. I asked him about it after one show, he said the music just takes over. There was something deeply spiritual about him,” Sanders said.

But it was several years in the planning to get Cliff to the Bay to perform.

“It was on the drive from the concert in Tauranga to the Powerstation in Auckland, in March 2015, that the seeds of a concert at Waitangi were sown. He wanted to understand about Te Tiriti and the relationship between Māori and non-Māori – this always fascinates artists from other parts of the world, but for Jimmy this was on another level. He was a lifelong advocate for social justice and cultural identity, an activist who used his musical superpower to fight racism and connect people together,” Sanders said.

“I told him I would make it happen and in March 2018, the idea became a reality. A cracking line-up included Louis Baker, Teeks, Swamp Thing, Tami Neilson, Bobby Alu, Rob Ruha, Troy Kingi and Katchafire, headlined by Jimmy Cliff. But he almost didn’t make it after a delay out of Australia resulted in them missing the final flight to Bay of Islands that day.

“The resulting efforts by Air New Zealand and festival crew to get Jimmy and his 10-piece band to Waitangi became the stuff of legends. Air New Zealand were prepared to put a plane on just for the band but couldn’t find the pilots in time. Instead, they had him whisked off the flight, through customs and into a waiting minibus, which drove at speed to Waitangi.”

They made it, about 45 minutes after they were supposed to go on. Katchafire had extended their set to fill in time.

“A quick set-up and soundcheck and we had them on stage but as we went past our curfew, a panicked venue was demanding I tell them to end their set. I jumped on stage and told the band leader and Jimmy, ‘whatever you do, don’t come off stage before your encore, just keep going’. It is absolutely a decision I will never regret, despite the trouble it got me in to.

Reggae legend Jimmy Cliff told Erin Sanders, then aged 14 and daughter of Waitangi Festival promoter Jackie Sanders that ‘if I ever stop doing music, I will die'. The music stopped for the Jamaican superstar last week

“My daughter, only 14 at the time, asked him the next morning if he would ever stop. Jimmy told her: ‘If I ever stop doing music, I will die’.

“I was blessed to be able to spend some time with a true pioneer of a genre. Music was in his soul in a way you don’t often get to see or experience. Rest in power, Jimmy Cliff. Your music will never die, but we will miss you deeply.”