Musos to salute Marley's 60th birthday

Musicians from around the world will converge on the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa next month to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the birth of reggae icon Bob Marley.

Thousands of dreadlocked Rastafarians sporting trademark red, green and yellow colours are expected to flock to Ethiopia to remember Marley, who won global stardom by bringing reggae music to the world stage before his death from cancer in 1981.

Organisers denied reports in some media outlets that there was a plan to exhume Marley's remains in Jamaica and rebury them in Ethiopia on the anniversary of his birthday.

"There is no plan to return the remains of Bob Marley to Ethiopia on February 6. No body is being exhumed," Desta Meghoo-Peddie, managing director of the Bob Marley Foundation, said in Addis Ababa.

She said month-long cultural events would raise funds for charity and promote the message of the triumph of the human spirit over poverty and violence contained in Marley's songs.

"The Marley family is committed to progressing Bob's legacy as a champion for human rights," Meghoo-Peddie said.

"We invite the world to celebrate with us in refuelling the spirit that will unify Africa, her sons and daughters in the diaspora and work towards ending violence, poverty, injustice and discrimination."

Jamaican-born Marley, who died aged 36, became a legend with reggae anthems such as Stir It Up and No Woman No Cry, and is widely regarded as one of the world's most influential musicians of the past 50 years.

The world's most famous Rastafarian, Marley popularised the sect that considers Ethiopia its spiritual home and believes the country's late Emperor Haile Selassie is a divine figure.

Musicians, including Danny Glover, India.Arie, Angelique Kidjo and Shaggy, will appear alongside members of Marley's family at events to celebrate his birthday on February 6.

Meskel Square, the major parade ground in Addis Ababa, is undergoing a facelift for the concert to mark the birthday, which is also expected to draw stars such as Mali's Baaba Maal, Senegal's Youssou n'Dour and Teddy Afro from Ethiopia.

The celebration will also see the launch of a book by Marley's wife Rita Marley entitled My life with Bob Marley.

The Rastafarian sect took its name from Ras Tafari, Haile Selassie's name as a young prince before he was crowned in 1930.

Legend has it that Haile Selassie was Ethiopia's 225th monarch in an unbroken line from Menelik I, the son of the Biblical King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba who ruled 3000 years ago. Rastafarians consider Haile Selassie, who was murdered in 1975, the son of God and believe he did not die, although neither the former emperor nor his family claimed to have any divine powers.

- REUTERS