This summer, Kingston’s newest museum will open, honoring the late reggae legend Peter Tosh. An internationally renowned musician, social activist and advocate of the Rastafari religion, Tosh died at the age of 42 in 1987 during a tragic home invasion. A self-taught guitarist and keyboardist, he earned fame as a founding member of the Wailers band with Bob Marley and Bunny Wailer. Together the three became pioneers of reggae, and toured the world for more than ten years. In 1973 he left the band to launch a solo career, earning major success with his 1976 album Legalize It. Now, forty years after the album debuted, a museum devoted to him will finally open.
Located at The Pulse Centre on Trafalgar Road, soon to be renamed Peter Tosh Square, the museum will display never-before-seen memorabilia as well as iconic artifacts like Tosh’s M16-shaped guitar and his beloved unicycle. (Tosh was an avid unicyclist, often riding on stage during his performances.) Also on exhibition will be previously unreleased audio and video recordings of Tosh.
Tosh left behind a legacy that included countless hits, collaborations with artists such as Mick Jagger ( “Walk and Don’t Look Back”) and Keith Richards, and a son who also became a world-famous reggae artist Andrew Tosh. The Peter Tosh Museum, opening this summer, will help solidify Peter Tosh as a founding father of reggae.
