BBC NEWS | Entertainment | Jamaican honour for Marley home (original) (raw)

Bob Marley

Bob Marley became an international star in the 1970s

The Jamaican home of reggae legend Bob Marley is to be declared a national monument, 25 years after his death.

Musician Marley, who died of cancer in 1981, would have turned 61 this week.

His home has become the Tuff Gong International music studio, but remains a major tourist attraction in the Jamaican capital Kingston.

Officials said the tribute will recognise Marley's work in promoting his home country overseas. No official date has been set for the ceremony.

The singer was born in St Ann, Jamaica in 1945, but despite his global fame, government officials have repeatedly ignored calls to name the reggae star a national hero.

Only seven Jamaicans have been bestowed the title national hero, including civil rights leader Marcus Garvey and former Prime Minister Alexander Bustamante.

Celebration concert

Marley, who was behind songs such as Get Up Stand Up and One Love, was given the Order of Merit, Jamaica's third-highest honour, a month before his death in Miami, aged 36.

A peacemaker and champion of Africa throughout his life, Marley's 60th birthday saw thousands converge on the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa for a celebration concert last year.

Organised by the Bob Marley Foundation and the African Union, among others, it marked the first time his birthday had been celebrated outside his native Jamaica.

Ethiopia is the spiritual home of Rastafarianism, a religion with which Marley was closely associated.