Bob Marley’s close friend and former tour manager Allan ‘Skill’ Cole is not a fan of the portrayal of his close friend in the Paramount Plus Bob Marley: One Love movie, which purports Marley as a devout husband and father as he navigated the strife of his career at the heights of fame.
It’s been almost a month since the movie began airing worldwide and broke several box office records. Initially, the film was touted as a “biopic” of the reggae artist, which is co-executive and produced by Ziggy Marley and members of the Marley family, including Rita and Cedella.
The portrayal has caused several grouses from those who’ve watched it as it seemingly removed aspects of the artist’s life such as his life for girlfriend and baby mother, Cindy Breakspear, end Bob’s proliferation of beautiful women and a throng of children birthed out of wedlock with them.
Among those who haven’t gone to see the movie is Cole, who says that many figures that helped Marley into who he became were left out of the story, including himself and Mortimer Planner, Marley’s mentor when he lived in Trench Town.
“There are people who did a lot of work with him, on him to make him become more vibrant… I think I was one of those persons. Another of those persons that we don’t mention is Mortimer Planner [who] used to tell me years from the 60s; his lyrics are going to make the world go crazy,” Cole said in an interview with TVJ’s Anthony Miller.
Cole has not watched the movie and said he didn’t think that the movie would project “what the true essence of Bob Marley is about.”
“I was the closest person to him (Bob Marley) and I know his history more than anyone else. I knew so much about him; we spent so much time together, things that we shared, I don’t think anyone even knows,” he said.
Cole said he was the only person around Bob who was not employed by him, but the “Three Little Birds” singer reportedly told his mother and others that his debt to Cole could never be repaid. Cole also mentioned Cindy Breakspeare, who he said was an “integral” part of Marley’s life during the period covered by the film, but editorial cuts removed references to her.
“It was an affair that was real. I was in the middle of it and saw it all happen. It was real, and it was something special,” Cole said.
He called Breakspeare an “amazing” part of his life, but he acknowledged that Rita was his “first love”, and while she did a lot for him, it didn’t take away from him finding comfort in Cindy Breakspeare.
“She helped with his coming to fame. I remember the tabloid; it said ‘the beauty and the beast’, and people were curious. Marley was not a star at that time. He was rising cause’ we were there coming along with him. So I think that helped to create that image of a rasta man; who is this rasta man? Miss World [Cindy] saying, ‘he’s my boyfriend’. So, I think that helped with his career. He accepted it, he knew it but the type of individual he was, he wasn’t that type of guy who was excited by certain things,” Cole said.
Cole also defended Cindy against backlash when she posted a memorial to Marley for his birthday this year, and many Jamaicans sought to “put her in her place” as they reminded her she was a “side chick.”
However, Cole said, “What happened cannot be undone,” as he spoke about Marley being in love with Cindy and the people criticizing Breakspeare were not around nor understood the artist.
“It’s not doing her justice, it’s bitter, and it’s totally not acceptable,” he said.
Breakspeare has a child, Damian’ Junior Gong’ Marley, with Breakspeare.
In the meantime, Cole also said several scenes in the movie were faking, including the part where Rita slapped him as he laughed and said it was “unbelievable.”
“It’s a make-up story… I think that box that I say there where she [Rita] box him it is totally misleading and erroneous; I also think that they were talking about the Soulets; the Soulets was a group, but they didn’t even have a hit song… for you to say you left your group to do this or that, that’s misleading for people for the history of what transpired,” Cole said adding that many viewers did not know anything about the Marleys.
“I think he would have been totally upset,” [because] “there are a lot of lies. That box is unbelievable… he would go crazy because that’s not true,” Cole added.
