Harder Than The Rock: The Cimarons Story (2024)

Together with Caribbean Creativity we present the exclusive Dutch premiere of Harder Than The Rock in our Cinema. This new documentary tells the fascinating story of Cimarons, the first UK-based band to embrace the thrilling new sounds coming out of Jamaica. Formed in the late 1960s and working with prominent Jamaican producers who were influential in reggae and dub, they were instrumental in popularizing reggae in Britain and contributed to the the early development of UK dub. With an introduction by cultural anthropologist and reggae musician Douwe Dijksterhuis.

Reggae exploded in the 1970s, with Cimarons at its heart. Thousands of miles from Jamaica, they brought excitement, experimentation and sheer anticipation booming from speaker boxes, putting the new generation of Black British youth in touch with their roots – in contact with who they really were. Industry legends and backing musicians at Trojan Records, Cimarons worked with reggae-royalty Bob Marley, Toots & the Maytals, Jimmy Cliff, Lee 'Scratch' Perry and even Paul McCartney, but have been hugely under-recognised when it comes to their own music, impact and legacy. Having lost drummer Maurice Ellis to cancer, the band persists, despite decades of exploitation. Harder Than The Rock tells the story of their amazing history and follows the band’s final chapter as they dream of performing in front of live audiences again, one last time...

Melkweg often hosts different types of programmes at the same time, such as concerts, club nights and films. Please note that there may occasionally be some noise pollution from other programmes during the screening.