Church made famous by Bob Marley, destroyed in fire

A church in London that was used by Bob Marley during the filming of the video for his ‘Is This Love’ song has been destroyed in a fire.

Around 40 firefighters attended the fire at the Christ Apostolic Church in King’s Cross, London last week.

The church has been severely damaged and 20 people were evacuated from nearby properties.

The building used to be home to ‘Keskidee’ which was thought to be the UK’s first cultural centre for the black community and was founded in 1971. It was known for its theatre productions and also claimed to be the birthplace of dub poetry which is a form of performance poetry of West Indian origin.

Fire station manager Mick Sawyer said firefighters spent most of the evening the scene damping down. The fire is thought to have started on the ground floor and spread to the roof area.

Councillor Catherine West from Islington Council, said: “This was a serious fire and I am very thankful no-one was hurt. The church was the site of the former Keskidee, Britain’s first arts centre for the black community, and many residents still have memories of its heyday in the 70s and 80s.”