Bob Marley

One of the few major faces of minority religious sects, Robert Nesta Marley, has become the face of reggae and of Rastafari. His own brand of African rock and reggae music reached out to people all over the world, and had great impact on the religious movement as a whole.

Bob Marley was born in 1945 to a white middle class father and a black mother, in Jamaica. He left home at 14 years old to pursue a music career in Kingston. This was his first experience of Rastafari, becoming a pupil of local singer and devout Rastafarian, Joe Higgs.

After creating the highly successful Jamaican reggae group, 'Wailers', Marley's national fame seemed set. His marriage to Rita Anderson, a devout Rastafarian, in 1964, further increased his interest in the religion and his music reflected this.

Catch a Fire was the first of the Wailers' albums released outside of Jamaica, and immediately earned worldwide acclaim. His two co-stars, Livingstone and Tosh, left the group because of increased tour demands and Marley had to form a new line-up. The new name, the I-Threes, consisted of three female singers, including his wife, Rita. Sellout shows followed in London and America.

Graffiti in Barcelona showing Bob Marley's face ©

As famous as he was outside Jamaica, within his home country he was viewed as a prophet and a poet. The message of Rastafarian politics and theology in his songs was never diluted, and for the Jamaicans, to whom the religion was particularly targeted, his songs had additional meaning.

His most successful year, 1980, was kicked off by a concert in the newly independent Zimbabwe, and a tour of the US was planned. But just a year later he collapsed while jogging in New York's Central Park. He had a recurring cancer which had spread to his brain, lungs and liver. He died later in hospital, aged 36.