Don Letts

Letts worked across disc jockey, journalist, historian, director and writer and 3 further recorded occupations. The registers place that work in reggae. This article rests on 38 catalogued compositions, 5 published texts, 9 issued recordings, 13 digitised documents and 18 scholarly references drawn from named institutional registers. Every statement below returns to a source shown in the evidence panel; where the record is silent or divided, the article says so instead of resolving it.

• Name — Don Letts • Birth Name — Donovan Letts • Born — 10 January 1956 • Birthplace — London, England • Genre — * Post-punk • alternative dance • dance-rock • funk rock • hip-hop • reggae fusion • Occupation — * Disc jockey • film director • Years Active — 1975–present • Past Member Of — * Big Audio Dynamite • Basement 5 • Screaming Target • Website — Don Letts' Culture Clash Radio (BBC Radio 6 Music)

Letts was born on 10 January 1956 in London, and educated at Tenison's School in Kennington.

In 1975, he ran the London clothing store Acme Attractions, selling "electric-blue zoot suits and jukeboxes, and playing dub reggae all day long." He was deeply inspired by the music coming from his parents' homeland, Jamaica, in particular Bob Marley. After seeing one of Marley's gigs at the Hammersmith Odeon in June 1976, Letts was able to sneak into the hotel and spent the night talking to and befriending Marley. By the mid-1970s Acme had quite a scene, attracting the likes of the Clash, Sex Pistols, Chrissie Hynde of the Pretenders, Patti Smith, Debbie Harry of Blondie and Bob Marley. In a 2022 interview, Letts discussed growing up in London and the discrimination he faced in relation to Steve McQueen's anthology film series Small Axe. Discussing mistreatment at the hands of police he remarked that: 'A lot of us took that for normal. It was just what we had to deal with. Back in those Mangrove days… There weren't no culturally enlightened policemen. It was the Wild West and trust me: we weren't the cowboys.' Seeing the crowd at Acme, the then-promoter Andy Czezowski started up The Roxy, a fashionable nightclub in Covent Garden during the original outbreak of punk in England, so that people could go from the store and have some place to party. As most bands of that era had yet to be recorded, there were limited punk rock records to be played. Instead, Letts included many dub and reggae records in his sets, and is credited with introducing those sounds to the London punk scene, which was to influence the Clash and other bands. As a tribute, he is pictured on the cover of the extended play (EP) Black Market Clash (1980) and the compilation album Super Black Market Clash (1993). He was able to use the fame and money from DJ-ing and the Acme store to make his first film, The Punk Rock Movie (1978), using Super 8 camera footage. Letts quit the retail business to manage the band the Slits. He was able to get the Slits to open for the Clash during the White Riot tour. While on the White Riot tour he decided that management was not for him, but continued to shoot material for The Punk Rock Movie (1978). Letts went to Jamaica for the first time when, after the Sex Pistols broke up, John Lydon decided to escape the media frenzy by going with entrepreneur Richard Branson to Jamaica. It was on this trip that Branson was inspired to start up Virgin's Frontline reggae record label. • Illustration — Letts at the Glastonbury Festival in Pilton, Somerset, 2015 A portrait of Letts by photographer Dean Chalkley featured in the exhibition Return of the Rudeboy at Somerset House in the middle of 2014. In recognition of Letts' unique contribution to music, on 16 October 2013 he was presented with a BASCA Gold Badge of Merit.

Letts is married to Grace and the couple have two children. He also has a son and a daughter from a previous relationship. In September 2020, Letts and his wife Grace were featured on BBC Two's Gardeners' World, showing how they had combined their different tastes for plants and culture in their town garden in north west London. In 2022, Letts received an honorary doctorate from the University of Nottingham.

In 1978, Letts recorded an EP, Steel Leg v the Electric Dread, with Keith Levene, Jah Wobble and Steel Leg. After Mick Jones was fired from the Clash, he and Letts founded Big Audio Dynamite (BAD) in 1984. In 1990 Letts formed Screaming Target. As of 1 April 2009, Letts is presenting a weekly show on BBC Radio 6 Music. In 2022 Letts' singles "Outta Sync" and "Wrong" were released in anticipation of his debut studio album Outta Sync produced by Gaudi and released on 29 September, 2023.

• Year — Title — Notes • 1978 — data-sort-value="Punk Rock Movie" | The Punk Rock Movie • 1997 — Dancing in the Streets: Planet Rock — TV movie • Dancehall Queen • 2000 — data-sort-value="Clash Westway to the World"| The Clash: Westway to the World — Documentary • 2003 — data-sort-value="Essential Clash"| The Essential Clash — Video • One Love • 2004 — Making of 'London Calling': The Last Testament — Video • 2005 — Punk: Attitude — TV movie • data-sort-value="Revolution Will Not Be Televised" | The Revolution Will Not Be Televised: Gil Scott-Heron • Brother from Another Planet: Sun Ra • 2006 — data-sort-value="Making of All Mode Cons" | The Making of All Mod Cons: The Jam • Tales of Dr. Funkenstein: George Clinton • Rock It to Rio: Franz Ferdinand • 2007 — Soul Britannia • 2008 — data-sort-value="Clash Live Revolution Rock" | The Clash Live: Revolution Rock — TV movie • 2009 — Carnival! • 2010 — Strummerville • 2011 — data-sort-value="Rock and Roll Exposed"| Rock 'N' Roll Exposed: The Photography of Bob Gruen • 2012 — Subculture • 2016 — The Story of Skinhead

• Year — Title — Artist • 1977 — "White Riot" — The Clash • 1978 — "Tommy Gun" — The Clash • 1979 — "London Calling" — The Clash • 1980 — "Sister Europe" — The Psychedelic Furs • "Bankrobber" — The Clash • "The Call Up" — The Clash • 1981 — "This Is Radio Clash" — The Clash • 1982 — "Rock the Casbah" — The Clash • "Should I Stay or Should I Go" — The Clash • "Pass the Dutchie" — Musical Youth • "Back on the Chain Gang" — The Pretenders • "Youth of Today" — Musical Youth • 1983 — "The More I See (The Less I Believe)" — Fun Boy Three • "Got to Have You Back" — The Undertones • "War Party" — Eddy Grant • "Everyday I Write the Book" — Elvis Costello and the Attractions • "Party Train" — The Gap Band • 1984 — "One Love" — Bob Marley and the Wailers • "Waiting in Vain" — Bob Marley and the Wailers • "Round and Round" — Ratt • 1985 — "The Bottom Line" — Big Audio Dynamite • 1986 — "E=MC2" — Big Audio Dynamite • "Medicine Show" — Big Audio Dynamite • "C'mon Every Beatbox" — Big Audio Dynamite • 1987 — "V. Thirteen" — Big Audio Dynamite • 1988 — "Just Play Music!" — Big Audio Dynamite • 1989 — "James Brown" — Big Audio Dynamite • "She Gives Me Love" — The Godfathers • 1990 — "Get Up, Stand Up" — The Wailers • 1994 — "Deep Forest" — Deep Forest • 1995 — "In the Name of the Father" — Black Grape • 1996 — "Don't Take My Kindness for Weakness" — The Heads with Shaun Ryder

"A good idea attempted is better than a bad idea perfected." – Don Letts to The Guardian

Don Letts was born on 10 January 1956 in London. Letts held the nationality of United Kingdom. Letts was educated at Archbishop Tenison's Church of England School. Letts worked as disc jockey, journalist, historian and director, and the authority record catalogues a further 4 occupations under the same name, among them writer, film director, composer and musician. Letts was active from 1975. The fields Letts worked in include reggae. Letts worked in English.

Letts worked for the screen, as film director. 4 films survive in the institutional catalogues, spanning 1997 to 2005. They are Dancehall Queen (1997), The Clash: Westway to the World (2000), One Love (2003) and Punk: Attitude (2005).

In 2006, he published his autobiography, Culture Clash: Dread Meets Punk Rockers. In 2021 Omnibus Press published There And Black Again, co-written with Mal Peachey.

Since his first film, The Punk Rock Movie (1978), Letts has expanded to doing documentaries and music videos for multiple bands. In 1997, he travelled to Jamaica to direct Dancehall Queen with Rick Elgood. His film The Clash: Westway to the World (2000) won a Grammy Award in 2003. A new documentary, Rebel Dread (2022) about Letts was released discussing his story as a first generation Black British, cultural mover and shaker, filmmaker, and musician.