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Symarip
From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist
Symarip was a British ska and reggae band, founded in the late 1960s by Frank Pitter and Michael Thomas, at that time under the name The Bees. The band members had West Indian roots. The name, at first spelled Simaryp, is roughly a reversal of the word pyramids, one of the group's earlier names. Later they also played as Seven Letters and Zubaba. The line-up included the singer and trombonist Roy Ellis, guitarist Josh Roberts, bass player Mik Thomas, drummer Frank Pitter and keyboard player Monty Neysmith.
Music and breakthrough
Symarip is regarded as one of the first skinhead reggae bands, and one of the first to target skinheads as an audience. Their songs included Skinhead Girl, Skinhead Jamboree and Skinhead Moonstomp, which was based on Moon Hop by Derrick Morgan. The album Skinhead Moonstomp came out in 1970 on Trojan. In 1971 the group moved to Germany, where they played reggae and Afro-rock as Zubaba. In 1980 Skinhead Moonstomp was released again, riding the wave of the 2 Tone craze, and reached number 54 on the British chart. In 1985 the band split up after the album Drunk and Disorderly, released under the name The Pyramids. Later reunions followed.
Influence
Symarip belongs to the cradle of skinhead culture, which did not begin with the later rough political imagery, but with a shared love of Jamaican music among Black and white young people. Their sound is danceable, with organ, horns and a light ska beat.