Released by K-Tel in May 1980, Magic Reggae is a collection of 20 tracks - including 14 UK hit singles - by 19 popular reggae acts (Toots and the Maytals appear twice).[1]
K-Tel had released an album of the same name in Austria, Germany, and Switzerland, with a different cover and just 16 tracks, in 1979. Desmond Dekker's "Israelites", The Melodians' version of "Rivers of Babylon", Third World's "Now That We've Found Love", and Zap Pow's "This is Reggae Music" also appeared in this version, but they included Desmond Dekker's version of "You Can Get It If You Really Want" rather than the Jimmy Cliff original.[2]
The album entered the UK Albums Chart w/e May 17, 1980 at #60, beginning a run of 17 weeks. When it jumped from #60 to #18 the following week, it shared the spot with British heavy metal band Saxon and their album Wheels of Steel. the album peaked at #9 w/e June 21, 1980.[3]
In March 1980, Trojan released a Double-A single featuring "Liquidator" by Harry J All Stars and "Long Shot Kick De Bucket" by the Pioneers, which reached #42.[4]
| Side One | Side Two | Listen |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Eddy Grant - Living On The Front Line [UK #11, 1979] | 1. Zap Pow - This Is Reggae Music | |
| 2. Desmond Dekker - Israelites [UK #1, 1969; #10, 1975] | 2. Janet Kay - Silly Games [UK #2, 1979] | |
| 3. Dennis Brown - Money In My Pocket [UK #14, 1979] | 3. Owen Gray - Guava Jelly [US single, 1974] | |
| 4. Althea And Donna - Uptown Top Ranking [UK #1, 1977] | 4. Jimmy Cliff - You Can Get It If You Really Want | |
| 5. Bruce Ruffin - Mad About You [UK #9, 1972] | 5. Pioneers - Long Shot Kick The Bucket [UK #21, 1969; UK #42, 1980] | |
| 6. Bill Lovelady - Reggae For It Now [UK #12, 1979] | 6. Steel Pulse - Ku Klux Klan [UK #41, 1978] | |
| 7. Toots And The Maytals - Reggae Got Soul [UK non-charting single, 1976] | 7. Junior Murvin - Police And Thieves [UK #23, 1980] | |
| 8. Barry Biggs - Sideshow [UK #3, 1976] | 8. Toots And The Maytals - Chatty Chatty [UK non-charting single, 1980] | |
| 9. Third World - Now That We've Found Love [UK #10, 1978] | 9. The Melodians - Rivers Of Babylon [UK non-charting single, 1978] | |
| 10. Harry J. All Stars - The Liquidator [UK #9, 1969; UK #42, 1980] | 10. Typically Tropical - Barbados* [UK #1, 1975] | |
| *Missing from Spotify | ||
All Singles Chart data from Official Charts. Non-charting singles data from 45cat.