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You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/jul/18/in-praise-of-lee-scratch-perry

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What can we expect from Lee 'Scratch' Perry at this summer's Womad festival? What can we expect from Lee 'Scratch' Perry at this summer's Womad festival?
(2 months later)
Lee "Scratch" Perry is playing this summer's Womad festival. What to expect? A few years ago at a far smaller London venue, the legendary reggae artist began waving a candle and shouting: "I am a gay! I am an extraterrestrial!" Our shell-shocked reviewer wrote: "If someone started doing this on public transport, you suspect that most people here would hastily move to another carriage." Then again, the average oddball hasn't worked with Bob Marley and the Wailers, the Congos, Max Romeo; hasn't made Return of Django and Blackboard Jungle Dub; hasn't helped create dub reggae; or, through sampling crying babies and lowing livestock, anticipated much of alternative music. Had he been knocking out hits in London, Mr Perry wouldn't have been seen as an eccentric, but a pop genius deserving of retrospectives at the V&A and documentaries on the BBC. As it is, he helped created the climate that allows Pharrell Williams or Jay-Z to be seen as the talents they are. Truly, one of the greats.Lee "Scratch" Perry is playing this summer's Womad festival. What to expect? A few years ago at a far smaller London venue, the legendary reggae artist began waving a candle and shouting: "I am a gay! I am an extraterrestrial!" Our shell-shocked reviewer wrote: "If someone started doing this on public transport, you suspect that most people here would hastily move to another carriage." Then again, the average oddball hasn't worked with Bob Marley and the Wailers, the Congos, Max Romeo; hasn't made Return of Django and Blackboard Jungle Dub; hasn't helped create dub reggae; or, through sampling crying babies and lowing livestock, anticipated much of alternative music. Had he been knocking out hits in London, Mr Perry wouldn't have been seen as an eccentric, but a pop genius deserving of retrospectives at the V&A and documentaries on the BBC. As it is, he helped created the climate that allows Pharrell Williams or Jay-Z to be seen as the talents they are. Truly, one of the greats.
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