Toots and the Maytals at The O2 Academy Oxford

By Barney Goodall

If you type into Google ‘architects of Reggae’ – and if you haven’t done this before, how very remiss of you – you will almost certainly be directed to Toots and the Maytals. (I’ll just check this claim.  Marvellous. I was right). You will also, hopefully, recognise many of their songs – I give you ‘Monkey Man, ’54-46 That’s My Number’ as examples. They are quite rightly being championed as legendary for this month’s UK tour which includes an appearance at the O2 Academy in Oxford on the 15th August. This promises to be very good indeed as they are still performing the same great genre defining songs as they did back in the 60s when they helped to bring reggae into existence.