The Wailers is one of three names used for a band from Kingston, Jamaica, which existed in various line-ups from the early 1960s onwards as a vocal-only group that released numerous singles. Starting out as a ska band, their musical evolution took them through rocksteady to roots reggae. The core of the group consisted of the trio Bunny Livingston (Bunny Wailer), Peter Mackintosh (Peter Tosh) and Bob Marley, all musicians who later became famous. In the early 1970s, they decided to play their own instruments and expanded the line-up to include the brothers Aston and Carlton Barrett, who took over the rhythm section (bass and drums). They quickly gained a large fan base in their home country through numerous successful performances and a number of singles.

However, as all their releases had so far been limited to Jamaica, they wanted to tour the UK. This didn’t happen straight away, but their temporary substitute manager, Brent Clarke, connected them in London with Island Records boss Chris Blackwell, a supporter of the band who had already released several singles on his label. With an advance in their pockets, the band set off for Jamaica in 1972 to record material for a full album across three studios. Back in London at the end of the year with the master tapes, Blackwell remixed the tracks and, with the band’s consent, added rock guitars and keyboards to some of the songs.

The result was released in April 1973 as Catch A Fire on Island Records, featuring a spectacular cover – a flip-open design inspired by the famous Zippo lighter. Bob Marley wrote seven and Peter Tosh two of the nine tracks, whose provocative and socially critical lyrics set to laid-back, catchy harmonies and a groovy sound, helped reggae achieve its international breakthrough. This fame ensures a consistently high demand to this day for this masterpiece as an UK original LP with the „Zippo cover“.