Graeme Thomson

How Trojan Records conquered the world

The story behind the first and finest anthology of ska, rocksteady and reggae

issue 19 June 2021

When Trojan Records attempted to break into the United States music market in the early 1970s, it hit an insurmountable barrier: the company shared its name with America’s most popular brand of condom. ‘It was a case of commercial coitus interruptus,’ says Rob Bell, at the time the label’s production manager.

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