Country living

"I'm saying goodbye to London city. City life is not for me. Going where the stars shine brightly ..." sings Sandra Cross in Country Living, a Mad Professor produced lovers rock classic. Despite the lyrics Sandra is from south London, and the area can stake a claim as the spiritual home of lovers rock. Many of the early releases (Brown Sugar and so on) were recorded by Dennis Bovell and colleagues in a basement studio on Brockley Road in the late '70s. The sound has endured, through the '80s, the '90s, and beyond. And there are numerous classics out there, from the likes of Sandra Cross, Kofi (who was in Brown Sugar), Deborahe Glasgow, Jean Adebambo, Sylvia Tella, and so on. Many of the lovers rock classics from the '80s were created in the Mad Professor's Ariwa studio in Gautrey Road in Nunhead. While the genre is poorly documented in mainstream media, unofficial channels like YouTube are a treasure trove of old lovers rock postings, including this priceless footage of Kofi in the Mad Professor's studio. Watch for the wink ...