The original Desert Boots by Clarks

BRITISH shoe manufacturer Clarks has teamed with reggae label Trojan Records to celebrate the 40th anniversary of its Originals Desert Trek brand and its role in Jamaican culture, according to a statement from Clarks.

The statement said Clarks will use the song Let Your Yeah Be Yeah by ska group, the Pioneers as part of its official campaign. Trojan, established in Britain during the mid-1960s by Jamaican Lee Gopthal, owns rights to the song.

Four disc jockeys and producers — Tokimonsta, Mighty Crown, Riva Starr and Toddla T — have been commissioned by Clarks to produce songs exclusively for download on its Originals Desert Trek in July.

Another aspect of the campaign are short films featuring artists who have worn the Clarks line over the years.

According to the statement: “Clarks will roll out an exclusive Trojan Desert Trek boot, plus a coffee table book documenting those who have worn and sung about Clarks Originals shoes. The publication will feature photographs, interviews, and previously unseen archival material, and explore how footwear made by a Quaker firm in the small, quiet, English village of Street came to be the ‘baddest’ shoes

in Jamaica.”

Clarks shoes have been popular with Jamaican ‘roots men’ for decades. They have been the footwear of choice for dancehall entertainers like Tenor Saw, Sugar Minott, Josey Wales and most recently Vybz Kartel whose 2010 hit song Clarks paid homage to the shoe.