On the 13th of June, the Zentralwäscherei will welcome in its Halle two legendary reggae bands : The Congos and The Gladiators.

THE GLADIATORS
The Gladiators were founded in 1967 by Albert Griffiths. The Band’s name was inspired by the gladiator fights in “Ben Hur” and symbolizes the fight for freedom as well as the resistance against Babylon. The Gladiators wrote some of the most iconic roots reggae tracks of the 70s, such as “Hello Carol”, “Bongo Red” and “Roots Natty ». In 1976, they got internationally known with the release of “Trenchtown Mix Up” and shared the stage with other reggae greats such as Toots & the Maytals, U-Roy and Jimmy Cliff.
Having toured constantly since then, Albert Griffiths decided to take a well-deserved retirement in 2004, handing over the leadership of the Gladiators to his son Al for the release of the album ‘Father and Sons’. Al’s resemblance to his father, both physically and vocally, was striking, and the public was quick to accept that he should take up the torch. Following the release of their latest album ‘Roots Legacy’ in 2019 featuring a mix of new tracks and the band’s great classics, they are once again on tour stopping by ZW for one of their last dates of the tour.

THE CONGOS
The Congos is a Jamaican vocal group formed in the mid-70s by Cedric Myton and Roydel “Ashanti Roy” Johnson, later becoming a trio with the addition of Derick “Watty” Burnett, completing the classic line-up.
They are one of the last Jamaican groups to have remained in their original cast since the 70s, and you can feel this unity and powerful cohesion at their concerts. Their success was first built around the legendary “Heart of the Congos” Album recorded at Lee “Scratch” Perry’s legendary Black Ark studio and featuring roots reggae gems such as “Open The Gate”, “Congo Man”’ and “Fisherman” considered by Rolling Stone magazine to be one of the ten best reggae tracks of all time.
After a break, they reunited in the mid-1990s and recorded albums such as “Swinging Bridge” and “Back In The Black Ark”. Besides performing great shows and huge festivals all around the globe as one of the most classic vocal groups of Jamaica, The Congos also recorded with other relevant artists from different countries such as Groundation (United States) and Pura Vida (Belgium). They are currently in the process of releasing a new album on the occasion of their European tour with the Gladiators.