Loved by rudeboys, treated with suspicion by the constabulary, and waxed lyrical by dancehall DJs, the Clarks Desert Boot is a certifiable cultural artifact in Jamaica. Despite a ban on foreign-made shoes throughout much of the 1970s, clandestine
There has always been a steady flow of music, fashion and culture back and forth between the UK and Jamaica, mainly due to the colonial links between the two countries and the many Jamaicans that settled in the UK after WWII. Jamaican people loved B
Another well-known Clarks-related story that a lot of Jamaicans seem to know is about Kingston police officer Joe Williams, who was active from the 1960s until the 1980s. A so-called ‘bad man police’, Joe would go in guns blazing. The story goes th
Rudeboys are known for their style and fashion. They also love Desert Boots in a big way, though to be fair, any shoe that says the word Clarks on it is a hit in Jamaica. The Desert Boot is a great looking shoe and the quality, especially pairs made
The photograph of Jah Stitch looks quite serene, but the photoshoot attracted a lot of interest and I had to deal with quite a few people behind the scenes while Mark got the image. In the mid 70s, Stitch was shot through the mouth. His face drooped
Some intrepid Jamaicans travelled to the small village of Street in Somerset, southwest England, where Clarks were made. If you really knew what you were doing you’d visit the stores that sold Clarks seconds, which are shoes with slight imperfection
There are hundreds of other Clarks references in Jamaican song lyrics. I have a collection of more than 200 reggae tracks that reference the brand. In 1978, Trinity voiced a tune called ‘Clarks Shoe Skank’. Then Ranking Joe put out ‘Clarks Booty Sty
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