A look over the life of reggae icon Robert Nesta Marley.

A worldwide musical icon, Bob Marley's death at the young age of 36 shocked the world. This edition of LWT's multicultural series Skin takes us beyond the music with this short programme on the life of a legend. We understand the role of Marley as a political figure within Jamaican society, his significance to the Jamaican people and as a global icon.

A wide-ranging survey spans the story of Jamaica's independence and the nation's continuously shifting sociopolitical and economic conditions. As a national figure, Marley held a crucial role in Jamaican politics. He acted as a figurehead to quell the spate of mass social violence that had filtered through gangs and affected the island throughout the 1970s.

In 1976 he was a target of this violence as his attempted assassination came at the behest of preventing a politically progressive concert he was about to hold. It has long been accepted that this action resulted from suspected CIA destabilisation efforts in Jamaica. Political gangs and members associated with the Jamaican Labour Party (JLP) were contracted to kill Marley.

Two years later, at his 1978 One Love concert, Marley held aloft the united hands of leaders of Jamaica's two major political parties, the left-wing PNP (People's National Party) and the right-wing JLP - an iconic unifying moment. However, while Marley played songs of unity, it is often overlooked that this concept of unification is intertwined with a rejection of the colonial systems that bound the island.

Artfully meshing the life and development of Marley from a young artist to a reggae pioneer, we see the performances match the shifting social reality and grow to understand the significance of Bob Marley. Look out, too, for the wide variety of footage of Marley's performances worldwide.

Bedford assesses the life and impact of Marley, especially his spreading of
Rastafarianism and the fact that he became a symbol of pride to the black
community.