and a Memorable Childhood Year

Colin Babb

From 1968 to 1973, the West Indies did not win a Test series and lost 2-0 on their last England tour in 1969. By 1973, and despite this lack of success, West Indies cricket still played a central role as a medium of Caribbean self-expression in Britain. In the summer of 1973, could the West Indies deliver the performances and results to inspire the Caribbean diaspora in Britain?

1973 and Me reveals why this was a landmark year for many of the contributors, exploring the story, legacy, first-hand testimonies and Colin’s personal memoir of this iconic year. This was the year Colin ‘discovered’ cricket on television, which provided intense competition to his devotion to football – Leeds United, the emergence of Clyde Best and more.

The book reflects on patterns of Colin’s family and Caribbean migration to Britain, wider perspectives on history, identity, music and politics, shared family experiences of television in the 1970s, a collection of memorable events, and interplay with the 1973 West Indies tour.

Contributors to 1973 and Me include: Dennis Amiss, Clyde Best, Harold ‘Dickie’ Bird, Keith Fletcher, Maurice Foster, Lance Gibbs, Colin Grant, Frank Hayes, Ron Headley, Bernard Julien, Alvin Kallicharan, Simon Lister, Professor Joe Moran, Deryck Murray and Professor Clem Seecharan.

• 216 x 138 mm

• 296 pages

• Paperback

‘1973 and Me is a vital account of the spirit, dynamism and cultural transformation of cricket brought about by West Indian cricketers. It is told with verve and brio by Colin Babb and along the way gives the reader plenty of fun’.

Colin Grant, historian, author and broadcaster

‘Colin Babb has a rare and beautiful talent for immersing the reader into history, allowing them to feel and share the journey of our pasts’.

Karen Hunte, Chair, Caribbean Politics, British Political Studies Association

‘A warm and captivating read with a legendary cast of characters’.

Lainy Malkani, Director of the Social History Hub, author and journalist

‘A treasure trove of fascinating historical details and personal stories’.

John Stevenson, broadcaster and journalist

Colin Babb describes himself as a ‘BBC’, a British-Born Caribbean. His family is from around the Caribbean, including Guyana, Guadeloupe and Barbados. Colin worked for the BBC as a radio producer, website producer, broadcast journalist; and as a photographer in the Caribbean for education book publishers. He has been a guest on television in Guyana, and radio in Barbados and Grenada, and has also appeared as a guest with the BBC Test Match Special commentary team. In 2012, Colin wrote They Gave the Crowd Plenty Fun: West Indies Cricket and its Relationship with the British-Resident Caribbean Diaspora (Hansib); revised and updated in 2015.