Toots and the Maytals

A concert in Leeds by Toots and the Maytals, the Jamaican band whose rocksteady, ska and reggae recordings date from the 1960s, now fronted by Toots's daughter Leba. Held at the Howard Assembly Room.

Toots and the Maytals are a Jamaican band whose music spans rocksteady, ska and reggae. Formed in Jamaica in 1966 and linked to the label Beverley's Records, the group took its current name for the 1969 album Sweet and Dandy. Their 1968 single Do the Reggay is credited with introducing the word reggae into a song. Frederick "Toots" Hibbert is the group's singer, and Rolling Stone magazine included him among its 100 greatest singers.

Among the best-known titles are 54-46 Was My Number, Monkey Man, Pressure Drop, Funky Kingston, Broadway Jungle, Bam Bam, Time Tough and Reggae Got Soul. The band is now fronted by Toots's daughter Leba, who has released recordings of their own and has worked with Sly and Robbie and Jimmy Cliff.

This date is billed as Toots and the Maytals featuring Leba, with special guests also on the bill. The Howard Assembly Room is a concert and performance venue at 46 New Briggate in Leeds, and the evening suits listeners who want to hear the songs that shaped Jamaican popular music in a live setting.