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The Book

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Filmmaker, musician, DJ, broadcaster, social commentator, husband and father – Don has always defied conformity. A British-born son of Windrush parents, he seamlessly pivoted between London's punk and reggae scenes earning his reputation as the 'Rebel Dread'.

In There and Black Again, Don looks back on his exceptional life, which has seen him befriend Bob Marley after sneaking into his hotel, join The Clash's White Riot tour as manager of The Slits, become one of the UK's most highly regarded video directors just as the MTV boom hit, win awards and plaudits as a movie director, win a Grammy for documentary work, tour the world as a rock star in Big Audio Dynamite and then a live DJ, before becoming a renowned BBC radio DJ and educator on all things cultural.

Told in part as scenes from a movie shot on location in London, Kingston, New York City, Los Angeles, Windhoek, Salt Lake City and Goldeneye, There and Black Again co-stars a cast of hundreds, including Joe Strummer, John Lydon, Bob Marley, Chrissie Hynde, Chris Blackwell, Paul McCartney, Nelson Mandela, Keith Richards, Patti Smith, Chuck D., Malcolm McLaren and Vivienne Westwood. 

With reflections on the Black Lives Matter movement and the highs and lows of personal relationships, this impactful book includes moments of civil unrest, live music, humour and political struggle. There and Black Again is the often unexpected story of a man who has never been afraid to tread his own path.

"As film-maker, musician, documentarist and cultural historian Don Letts has been, and still is, a catalyst for the minds and spirits of so many of us" - Jim Jarmusch

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