Babylon (1980) – Nostalgia Central

Babylon is the story of a group of young men living in a black ghetto area of South London (the film was shot on location in and around Deptford, Lewisham and Brixton) – a depressing and depressed place where music provides the only relief from their surroundings.

The central figure is Blue, played by Brinsley Forde, the guitarist and singer of Aswad and former child star of the kids’ TV series Here Come The Double Deckers (1970 – 1971).

An adherent of the Rastafarian faith with a free and easy outlook on life, Blue is a car exhaust fitter in a garage during the day and “toaster” (providing vocal improvisation) for ‘Ital Lion’ – an ambitious sound system which plays reggae tracks imported from Jamaican studios – at night.

Ital Lion win the semi-final of a “Battle of the Sounds” competition for having the best tunes and the most inspired toasting.

In the final, they have to face the near-legendary Jah Shaka – the seemingly unassailable master of the sound system scene.

The film follows the events in the days leading up to the final.

Trouble mounts when Blue loses his day job for no other reason than refusing to do without his lunch hour to cover up a mistake made by his white boss, who has booked in more cars for repair than can be managed in a day.

He has trouble at home. He doesn’t get on with Wesley (T-Bone Wilson), the man who lives with his mother (Cynthia Powell), and even taking his younger brother to school proves hazardous and hilarious.

There is smouldering hostility from the white occupants of the council flats overlooking the shabby lockup garage under a railway bridge where Blue and the Ital Lion crew keep their sound system equipment and blast reggae late at night. A woman, not surprisingly annoyed at the volume, mouths racist curses.

In the background, National Front fodder looms ominously.  It is a hint of distant thunder. An approaching storm . . .

Walking home late at night, Blue finds a carload of yobs on the prowl easing in behind him.

He runs, dodging down back streets, apparently evading them. But minutes later, they catch up, and he is cornered, beaten up – and handcuffed, for these particular yobs are plain-clothes policemen, allegedly enforcing law and order.

It is almost the only actual violence in the film. Beefy (Trevor Laird) – a member of Ital Lion – threatens to erupt at the slightest provocation, but in the end, it is Blue himself who kicks against the white world – doing exactly what he has urged Beefy not to do and striking out in blind anger after some National Front supporters smash up the lockup housing the sound equipment.

The final straw for Blue comes when his only real white friend, Ronnie (Karl Howman), becomes the scapegoat for the actions of the NF. This culminates in him retaliating by stabbing one of his tormentors in desperation after being attacked.

He then makes his way to the sound system final, which is already underway when he arrives.

Sick and tired of “taking licks,” he takes over the microphone and blasts his message to the kids unequivocally and uncompromisingly:” We can’t take no more of that!!”

The final scene has the police hammering down the door as they come to claim Blue for his stabbing of the white racist.

In a rebellious gesture, many youths at the competition join in his toasting “Stand Firm!” while barricading themselves in for the final confrontation.

Director and co-writer Franco Rosso, born in Italy but raised in London, waited five years to film Babylon. The idea was initially conceived as a possible BBC Play For Today but was never used. The writers (Franco and Martin Stellman) subsequently decided to make it a full-length feature film.

The film is undoubtedly authentic. It even uses sub-titles in places to help viewers who aren’t West Indian by birth or extraction understand what is being said at times.

The film – made for just £300,000 – superbly captures the frustrations and oppressions suffered by many young Britons simply because of the colour of their skin. Yet it is not itself depressing or gloomy but full of life and humour – if not much hope.

When Babylon was shown at the Cannes Film Festival in 1980, it was hailed by international critics as one of the most powerful new films to emerge from Britain.

Blue
Brinsley Forde
Errol
David N. Haynes
Beefy
Trevor Laird
Lover
Victor Romero Evans
Scientist
Brian Bovell
Dreadhead
Archie Pool
Ronnie
Karl Howman
Elaine 
Beverley Michaels
Beefy’s Girl
Ann Duncan
Sandra
Beverley Dublin
Compere
King Sounds
Mum
Cynthia Powell
Wesley 
T-Bone Wilson
Carlton
Mark Monero
Alan
Mel Smith
Fat Larry
Stefan Kalipha
Wolf
Malcolm Frederick
Spooky
Patrick Worrall
The Fence
Anthony Trent
William
Donovan Platt
Rupert
Alan Igbon
Mrs Watts
Yvonne Agard
Sandra’s father
Granville Garner

Director
Franco Rosso