The Gladiators are in the arena since 1967, when Albert Griffiths founded the band which name was suggested to him on a bus, by a traveler that had just seen the movie Ben Hur. The idea of these men fighting for their liberty suited immediately to the Rasta, close to the idea of the fight for liberty against Babylone, and it still sticks very well today to the roughness of life in Jamaïca. This is the period when they released their first hit Hello Carol establishing their name as a headliner in Jamaica. The hits Roots Natty and Bongo Red soon followed and they stand till today as jewels of Reggae music !

 

In 1976 their career becomes international itself thanks to the signature with Virgin of the legendary Trenchtown Mix Up that compiles most of their best titles (Bongo Red becomes for example Mix Up). During some years the GLADIATORS divide the top of the poster in the environment of the reggae with artists as U-Roy, Aswad or Toots & the Maytals and produce several albums even at first years 80 where two major events marked the beginning of a black period. The last album with Virgin was produced and remixed to their unawareness by Eddy Grant in a too commercial spirit and that failed the discredit lives-to-live of them public of basis, the height for one of the pillars of the roots reggae rock !

Next the death of Bob Marley in 1981 created such a shock in the world of the reggae that a lot of record companies took advantage to rid of their artists the less «docile » and the GLADIATORS were among those.

If they have therefore known a certain crossing of the desert on the recording plan in roaming of labels in labels they continued to compose big classics of the roots reggae and especially to turn untiringly through the world, always giving the best of themselves on stage and proving that they are without protest one of the first real Roots Rock Reggae band.

 

For example Albert Griffiths always lives in the country, in the hills of St Elizabeth where he was born and where one feels again the vibrations of deep Jamaïque, far tumulte of Kingston. And this is this type warm and sincere mood brawl to the energy that they develop on scene that one rediscovers on their last CD « Something a gwaan » (translation of « something is going on » in jamaïcain patois), recorded largely to Tuff Gong it fine studio of Bob Marley.

 

In 2002, they recorded “Once upon a time in Jamaica” which remembers us of Tuff Gong compositions.

“Father and sons” recorded at Anchor studio in Kingston-Jamaica was released with his sons: Al and Anthony, singing and drum. It was the 2004’s tour music where Albert Griffiths says goodbye to his fans. It is his final album.

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