“People shied away from its political edge – they didn’t get their love songs. But for us it was a lot of fun”: Junior Marvin on Bob Marley and the Wailers’ Survival – and the influence Hendrix’s guitar pedal guru had on its sound

Junior Marvin plays a white Fender Stratocaster onstage at Rewind Festival, in Scotland.

After a session career that included credits with Keef Hartley, Toots & the Maytals and Steve Winwood (along with an appearance in the Beatles’ Help! movie as a child actor), by the late ’70s, Junior Marvin established himself as a noteworthy go-to player with a distinct Jimi Hendrix-meets-reggae edge.

That served him well, as after hooking up with Bob Marley in early 1977 as a replacement for Al Anderson, Marvin immediately played lead guitar across Marley’s iconic 1977 album, Exodus. That record and its follow-up, 1978’s uber-chill Kaya, are widely regarded as two of the greatest reggae albums of all time, but Marley’s next album – 1979’s Survival – is overlooked by drive-by fans.