Founder of the UK's first Jamaican music fanzine, Eric Denham here recounts a brief history of his endeavours to help establish a community of like-minded souls back in the sixties and seventies:

Before the internet came into our lives, news about music was gleaned through magazines, fanzines, word of mouth and newsletters - and the Jamaican music scene was no exception.

And so it was in 1966, when after hearing  '007 (Shanty Town)' by the late Desmond Dekker I first became hooked on Jamaican music. My love of the music grew so rapidly that the following year I decided to spread the word, launching the independent 'Blue Beat, Ska & Rocksteady Appreciation Society of Great Britain', via a monthly newsletter.

The monthly newsletter comprised a competition, a live appearance listing and pen-pal corner, while the popular record exchange section later became a regular fixture.

In 1973, after Trojan Records had became involved, the society had a name change to 'The West Indian Music Appreciation Society', but by the mid-seventies, the company had begun to experience financial problems, eventually withdrawing the financial backing that had ensured the society's success.

Without this support and with rising costs it ultimately became impossible to keep the society going and after a further year running it independently again, reluctantly, it was slowly wound down, finally coming to a premature end in 1976.

If you have any questions you would like to ask Eric about his experiences running the Jamaican music appreciation societies, please feel free to send them in to us at the usual address (trojanwebsite@googlemail.com), labelling them 'Questions For Eric' and we will be putting the best of these to him over the next week or so. These and his answers will be published here in the near future.