John Holt – We Nah Leave (2025) Single

Label: 17 North Parade division of VP Music Group
Primary Artist: John Holt
Produced by: Henry “Junjo” Lawes
Backing Band: Roots Radics
Mastering Engineer: Billy Polo
Release date: 07/11/2025

To mark what would have been the late, great John Holt’s 78th birthday, VP Records’ foundation imprint 17 North Parade is proud to release “We Nah Leave”, a deep cut from the legendary singer’s catalogue, produced by Henry ‘Junjo’ Lawes.

As part of the VP Records’ continued series of high-definition reissues, “We Nah Leave” has come direct from the Reel To Reel 1/4 15 IPS master tape, which was delivered to Greensleeves Records in 1981, and, thanks to mastering engineer Billy Polo, now sounds crystal clear and drops heavy. The tape was never put into production at the time; however, there were versions released previously on Randy’s Jah Guidance label in Jamaica and New York, and on Holt’s own label (as “Not Leaving”) and later included in John Holt‘s Memories By The Score compilation released in 2015. This new reissue will be released on all digital and streaming platforms, and will include the instrumental version and an extended mix.

Created by the same production unit that built the global reggae anthem “Police In Helicopter” in 1983, “We Nah Leave” features one of the greatest Jamaican studio bands of all time, The Roots Radics, recorded at Channel One studios, right in the heart of the ghetto of Western Kingston. Holt’s defiant, pleading vocal sits perfectly on top of the Radics riddim section, built up of Style Scott’s thunderous drums and Flabba Holt’s epic bass line – a true sufferah’s anthem if there ever was one.

1. John Holt – We Nah Leave (7-inch Mix)
2. John Holt & Roots Radics – We Nah Leave (7-inch Version)
3. John Holt & Roots Radics – We Nah Leave (Extended Edit)