The home where Jamaica’s international reggae superstar Bob Marley first lived when he went to London, England, to seek fame and fortune is now up for sale at the whopping ask of £1.65 million, or about J$349.8 million.
Ridgmount Gardens, located in a popular Victorian mansion block in Bloomsbury, the four-bedroom, entrance floor apartment was home to Robert Nesta Marley in 1972, then not the reggae icon he later became, London’s Metro news reported.
The news outlet said Marley, the Third World’s first megastar, was invited by American soul singer Johnny Cash to support his UK tour. Marley and his band, the Wailers, played gigs around the capital to try and land a big record deal.
“They ultimately met Chris Blackwell, owner of independent Island Records which led to international success and fame for the reggae stars,” Metro said.
Marley and his Wailers — also comprising Peter Tosh, Bunny Livingstone, backed by the I-Three — are most credited for taking reggae from the sprawling slums of western Kingston to lofty places like Buckingham Palace in England.
“In 2006 for Black History Month, a blue cultural heritage plaque for Marley was unveiled at Ridgmount Gardens by The Nubian Jak Community Trust and Mayor Ken Livingstone, celebrating it as the first London home of the “singer, lyricist and Rastafarian icon,” Metro reported.
“The block, regarded as one of Bloomsbury’s finest, has a red brick façade typical of the style from when it was built in the 1890s. Over the years it’s held onto many original features including period fireplaces and windows.
“The flat benefits from access to a communal resident’s garden, as well as the right to apply for access to Bedford Square Gardens. Ridgmount Gardens also has a resident porter. Although the property is quiet, it’s just off Tottenham Court Road and Goodge Street Stations, as well as the amenities in the area.”
Metro quoted Alison Battrick of the Dexters Marylebone office, which is handling the sale, as saying: “Ridgmount Gardens has a great history, once home to the reggae superstar Bob Marley, and now has a cultural blue plaque, making it a highly desirable home.”