More than anyone else, the collaboration between Mr. Barrett and Marley turned both the Wailers and reggae itself into a global phenomenon during the 1970s.
Aston “Family Man” Barrett, who has died aged 77, was the bass guitarist with the Wailers and played a key role in the band’s rise – producing and arranging several of their records – as reggae broke out of Jamaica and became a global phenomenon; he also played with Lee “Scratch” Perry, Burning Spear and Peter Tosh in a wide-ranging career.
A relaxed wit, scissor-sharp style, and long line of A-list clients put John Barrett literally on top of the luxury fashion world, with a salon spanning the penthouse level of the Bergdorf Goodman department store in Manhattan.