Throwback Thursdays: Bunny Wailer in the 1980s

Photo by David Corio—

Sorry Snoop, we’re still riding with Bunny Wailer. Today marks the 67th earthstrong of the last remaining member of the Wailers trinity, so it’s only right to share some footage of Neville O’Riley Livingston’s performances. First up is a full 1986 concert at New York’s Madison Square Garden, which was sold commercially by Shanachie Records as Bunny Wailer In Concert. The show begins with a larger-than-life, fire-and-brimstone introduction, as “the musical messiah” before moving into a performance including nearly the entire Blackheart Man album. ” The show marked a “comeback” of sorts as, according to the video description, Bunny had not been seen abroad in over 10 years (though it seems he had done one show immediately prior to this one in Long Beach, California).

However, this isn’t the only footage of Bunny from that era online, after the MSG performance check Bunny doing “Ballroom Floor” at 1982’s Youth Consciousness concert in Jamaica. And for more on the legend of Bunny Wailer, read John Jeremiah Sullivan’s 2011 GQ feature on “The Last Wailer.”