THE Story of Lovers Rock, a documentary by Barbados-born film-maker Menelik Shabazz, is making the rounds in New York City.

‘Lovers Rock’ debuted in November at the Quad Cinema in Greenwich Village. It will have three screenings at the Black Spectrum Theatre in Queens on February 3-4.

Shabazz looks at the history and impact of lovers rock in the 90-minute film. The sound’s roots can be traced to the rocksteady era when singers like Alton Ellis defined the softer tones of Jamaican popular music.

Lovers rock took off in the late 1970s through Dennis Brown. But it was in Britain that it was perfected by a new wave of black British singers including Maxi Priest and Janet Kay.

Priest became the breakout artiste of these performers. He had many hit songs on ethnic charts, including Should I, Wide World and Some Guys Have All The Luck.

Freddie McGregor, like Brown, was a favourite in Britain. He also had big hits there in the 1990s with That Girl and Big Ship.

Shabazz’ film was released in Britain in September to critical acclaim. It contains interviews, comedy sketches, dance, live performances and archive footage of artists like Janet Kay, UB40, Maxi Priest, Levi Roots, Linton Kwesi Johnson, comedians Angie Le Mar, Robbie G, Eddies Nestor and new artistes like Ava Leigh and Lovella Ellis.

The New York Times film critic Kam Williams praised ‘Lovers Rock’: “You can add The Story of Lovers Rock to the short list of must-see, politically-tinged documentaries which shed light on the cultural roots of a lesser-known musical genre, a la Calypso Dreams and Buena Vista Social Club.”