When it comes to rock and roll, 84-year-old Chris Blackwell from London is a well-known name. As the founder of Island Records, the label that established Jamaica in 1959 and England in 1962, Blackwell has pushed a long list of music icons to fame: Robert Palmer, Melissa Etheridge, The Cranberries, U2, Bob Marley and many more.
Others know Blackwell as the patriarch of GoldenEye, the famous home of author Ian Fleming where he wrote all the James Bond novels, now a luxury resort and a celebrity refuge.
In fact, before music, Blackwell began his career in the travel industry more than four decades ago when he worked as a water ski instructor at Half Moon Resort in Montego Bay, Jamaica.
He owned and ran properties in Miami and the Bahamas. He still leads Strawberry Hill, in the blue mountains of Jamaica and the cliff-top caves at Negril, as he divides his time between the island and New York.
Now, the story of Blackwell’s career working with the world’s most famous artists is described in a memoir: “The Islander: My Life in Music and Beyond” (released June 7 and available to book now).
Blackwell, who is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, spoke to The Post about his adventures in hospitality and the recording and discovery of the stars whose songs we all sing out loud.
You know GoldenEye, but have you always worked in the Jamaican travel industry?
My cousin John Pringle opened Round Hill in Montego Hill in the 1950s, which immediately attracted an elite crowd because of its wide network of friends. Noel Coward came to stay, and the Kennedy family also before John became president.
I was a teenager at the time and so impressed with the whole setup that I was inspired to get into hotels. I started teaching water skiing to guests at Half Moon, which was near Round Hill. At the same time, air travel to Jamaica increased and Montego Bay was becoming popular with tourists. I loved the energy.
Isn’t it your hotel job that led to your music career?
Yes. Bands played in restaurants and bars on the weekends in both Round Hill and Half Moon, and I was drawn to their music, especially jazz. Once upon a time a band from Bermuda came to play Half Moon who had a blind pianist. A couple of drinks one afternoon, I told them I wanted to record them. I didn’t know anything about recording, but that was rum talking.
A few days later, we drove to Kingston, which was three hours away, and went to a recording studio. After that experience, I started going to concerts and recording different Jamaican bands that I liked. That’s how Island Records started.
After spending more than 20 years in music and leaving hotels behind, you put your toe back on in the early 1980s. Because?
I was going to Miami to meet a Detroit singer and I was amazed at how deteriorating all the hotels in the city were. I saw this abandoned Miami Beach hotel for sale and spontaneously decided to buy it. I had just met fashion designer Barbara Hulanicki who was designing this singer’s wardrobe and I asked her if she wanted to make the interiors. She agreed. That property was called Marlin and was one of the first nice hotels to open in Miami Beach. I ended up buying and managing seven properties there, including Tides and Leslie.
They prospered during the 1980s, but I eventually got frustrated with how things were going: properties had to be shut down every time a hurricane was forecast. I sold the hotels and moved to the Bahamas where I opened two hotels in Nassau: Pink Sands and Compass Point.
I was still running Island Records, so I built a recording studio there. Robert Palmer recorded his hit “Addicted to Love”.
You still own three hotels in Jamaica. What makes them unique?
Strawberry Hill is located at 3,100 feet in the mountains and is incredibly beautiful. The Caves has only 15 rooms and is located on the seafront in Negril. You can jump off the cliffs right there into the ocean.
GoldenEye is famous for being the home of Ian Fleming and where he wrote all the James Bond books. The beauty of the property is its simplicity. It has more than 60 rooms and four different beaches and is a large open space. There are no corridors, and you feel very free.
Meet Fleming in person. Where did you meet him and how was he?
Fleming first came to Jamaica in the late 1940s when he was about nine or ten years old. My uncle, who was a local newspaper writer, met him through a mutual friend, and they both became close friends. I was in a boarding school in England, but I saw him when I got home after school holidays.
He was very warm and very disciplined. He followed the same routine every day: a long bath, then breakfast, then hours typing while locked in his bedroom. I would leave at 1:30 for lunch and re-write more.
You have brought so many stars to fame. Who is the most memorable?
It must be the first person I discovered: Millie Small, who grew up on a sugar farm in Jamaica. She had the most unique high-pitched voice and I took her to England in 1964 to record “My Boy Lollipop”. It ended up being a huge hit and made her very famous.
Suddenly, I was catapulted to become the guy who ran around London trying to sell Jamaican music to the guy who was in the TV studios with the Beatles and the Rolling Stones.
Tell us about the discovery of Bob Marley.
Blackwell with (from left to right) Junior Marvin, Bob Marley and Jacob Miller, on their way to Brazil in 1980. Blackwell says he met Marley by chance in London after lending her a cash position.
I was in London working when Bob Marley and the Wailers went to Scandinavia to shoot a movie, but it failed. They had no tickets or money to return to Jamaica and ended up in London. A friend asked me to help them get home. I lent them money and we connected instantly. They made me a record, and that was the beginning.
What do hotels and music have in common?
Both industries try to entertain and meet people.
Who highlights you most of all the rock stars you’ve met and why?
Maybe Elton John. We met in London long before he became famous. He was the most amazing composer but very shy. I made the mistake of thinking I wouldn’t be someone who was very strong on stage. I couldn’t have been more wrong.
But among the musicians I’ve worked with, I’ve never gotten to know anyone too personally. I am more lonely and happier.
