What happened to Bob Marley?
By Sarah Swain|
His music remains some of the most recognisable? ever recorded.
And Bob Marley has been dubbed "reggae's biggest star" and "the voice of a nation".
But while most people could hum one of his tunes, there's plenty about the legendary musician that's not widely known.
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However a new biopic, Bob Marley: One Love, tells the full story of the man from Jamaica who introduced reggae to the rest of the world and was a renowned political activist.
Despite dying in his 30s, he sold a staggering 75 million records,? with honours including a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.
The film had a big push this week when Prince Harry and the Duchess of Sussex turned up at the premiere on the Caribbean island of Jamaica.
What's Bob Marley: One Love film about?
The movie charts the life of Bob Marley, real name Robert Nesta Marley.
He was born in Jamaica on on 6 February 1945 to a Jamaican singer mother and British father.
His father died from a heart attack when Marley was just 10.
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He met one of the original members of his band, Neville Livingston, later called Bunny Wailer when he was young จC and his mother went on to marry Bunny's father.
?Peter Tosh also joined and the band underwent various name changes and line-ups.
They were The Teenagers, The Wailing Rudeboys, The Wailing Wailers and finally The Wailers.
The band's first record, Simmer down, released in 1964 went to number one in Jamaica.
In the 1970s they hit the big time, landing major record deals.
They opened for ?band Sly and the Family Stone in the US but were sacked after a handful of shows จC not because they were bad, but because they were more popular than the main act.
The band split to all go solo in 1974.?
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Marley went on to have huge success.
However he, his wife and his manager were hurt in an assassination attempt in 1976,? thought to be politically motivated.
He performed two days later at a political rally, despite his injuries.?
He later moved to England and released multiple hits, including One Love. But amid his success he was diagnosed with cancer and died in his 30s.
Bob Marley: One Love cast
Marley is played by British actor Kingsley Ben-Adir, 37 in the new film, Bob Marley: One Love.
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The up-and-coming-star has had small parts in Marvel movie Secret Invasion, and played one of the many Ken's in the Barbie film.?
He was also in British TV shows Vera and Peaky Blinders.
He went to? Kingston to spend time with Marley's family and bandmates before making the movie.
"Many of the people I spoke to in Jamaica were wary of me when I first sat down. And rightly so," he told The Guardian.
"I would tell them: 'If I was you, I'd feel the same. But I want to try my best to represent this properly.' I told them: 'Listen, I've grown up with Jamaicans, believe me I'm not taking this lightly. I've agreed to do it, so I'm f---ing going to try my best.'"
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?Also in the film is Lashana Lynch as Marley's widow Rita, who has also been in some of the Marvel movies.
Popular British actor James Norton pays record company boss Christopher Blackwell.?
Bob Marley Songs
His most famous songs include One Love, Don't Worry about a Thing, Sun is Shining, No Woman No Cry, Get Up Stand Up and Jamming.
Bob Marley's children
Marley had? 11 children with multiple women, including one who he adopted, according to reports.
There are four Marley grandchildren.
Many of his children and grandchildren are also performers.?
His widow, Rita, a 77-year old mother of six is still alive.
However there have been claims he had two more children too.
What was Bob Marley's cause of death?
Marley died aged just 36 on May 11, 1981?.
?A few year before, in 1977, he was diagnosed with lentiginous melanoma after a mark was found on his toe.
He refused to have it amputated due to his religious beliefs and also fears over how it would affect his performing?.
He was at the height of his career, playing huge shows including at Madison Square Garden.
But he collapsed while running in Central Park and was told cancer had spread.
?He performed his last concert two days later and despite treatment, died less than a year later.
He was given a state funeral in Jamaica, with people lining the streets.
Jamaican Prime Minister Edward Seaga declared: "He is part of the collective consciousness of the nation.
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What did Bob Marley say before he died?
His final words to his son Ziggy Marley were: "On your way up, take me up. On your way down, don't let me down."
Ziggy, who is now also a musician later wrote on Instagram: "A father telling his son that puts some responsibility on my shoulders. He told me that, and I take it very seriously."?
Bob Marley :One Love is out in Australia on February 14, 2024.?
