12″- Limited Edition Black Vinyl with a replica of the original sleeve and insert (300 Copies only).

The beginning of the 1980s wasn’t a great time to be young. Between 1979 and 1981 youth unemployment more than doubled to over 900,000. Many approaches were tried to tackle the problem and one of the more innovative was theArts Opportunity Theatrea charity founded in Bristol byReynold DuncanandYvonne Deutschman. Financed by assorted public bodies, it aimed to train young people in a range of performing arts as well as the multiple skills needed to produce, organise and put on shows.
Over a seven year period the Arts Opportunity Theatre put on a succession of shows not only locally, but travelling as far as the Continent and trained hundreds of young people in everything from music to book keeping. People who passed through the collective would go on to form the core of many local bands and be involved in a large proportion of Bristol music releases, especially reggae.
The first show put on in 1981 and 1982 was “Freedom City” which prominently featuredZion Band. In May 1982 theZion Bandmusicians from the show went into Right Track Studio in Bristol and recorded four vocals and two dubs that would be released the following January on a 12″ single.
Back in 2011Bristol Archive Recordsincluded “Twelve Tribes” on a compilation and would later also compile “Babylon Fire/Babylon Dub”, but the other three tracks could only be found on the scarce original 12″ which in recent years has rocketed in price fetching in excess of 150. We believe music should be affordable and available so 2026 will seeBristol Archive Recordsreissue theZion Band”Freedom City” 12″ in it’s entirety, complete with its original picture sleeve and insert with a limited pressing of 300 copies on black vinyl. This release is dedicated to the late Reynold Duncan RIP.

Tracklist:

Side A
1.Freedom City
2.Babylon Fire / Babylon Dub

Side B
1.Twelve Tribes / Twelve Tribes Dub
2.To See You Smile