Stockwell-born pioneering reggae star Smiley Culture was recently honoured with a blue plaque, unveiled on the Lansdowne Green estate on Wandsworth Road on Monday, 10 February, and Lucy Robinson, Professor of Collaborative History, was invited to speak.
For the historic unveiling, Lucy gathered with Black British rapper Smiley Culture's family, friends and fellow artists to celebrate his contribution to community education, music, television and British pop culture, sharing a few words about his significance, legacy and values.
Lucy's participation in this special event was borne from her research on Smiley Culture's contributions to ideas of the Commonwealth and his important role in British poetry, linguistics and 'hybrid' voices in Thatcher's Britain. Lucy's publications on the artist include 'Smiley Culture: a hybrid voice for the Commonwealth' in Narratives from Beyond the UK Reggae Bassline: the System is Sound (2020), as part of the Palgrave Studies in the History of Subcultures and Popular Music series, and a chapter in her own book Now That’s What I Call a History of the 1980s: Pop Culture and Politics in the Decade that Shaped Modern Britain (2023), 'Smiley Culture’s voice: Speaking to the Commonwealth'.
In her blog, Lucy has shared how 'It was an honour to meet Smiley Culture’s family who had been generous enough to invite me to participate alongside his grandson Zaire’s incredibly moving and impressive performance of Smiley Culture’s single Cockney Translation'.
Organised by the Nubian Jak Community Trust in collaboration with Sony Music UK and the Emmanuel family, the plaque is dedicated to David Victor Emmanuel – his birth name. The unveiling took place on what would have been his 62nd birthday at his former residence, Temple Court, Lansdowne Green Estate, SW8.
David Emmanuel was born on 10 February 1963 in Stockwell and later attended Tulse Hill School. He earned the nickname “Smiley” as a young teenager because of his charming approach to chatting with girls.
David Emmanuel's iconic track, Cockney Translation, was released by Fashion Records in 1984. It was the first “fast chat” reggae single to be played on national radio. Its chart success was quickly followed by the even more popular Police Officer. The groundbreaking songs brought sharp wit and urban commentary into mainstream consciousness, bridging cultural divides.