Final Punk'n'Roll summer party on South Parade Pier will be a punky reggae party featuring Emiliyah and The MightyZ All Stars, Paul-Ronney Angel and The Bad Mofos and more

And at the last of the Punk’n’Roll summer parties on South Parade Pier, Emiliyah and The MightyZ All Stars will be doing their bit to continue that relationship.Bassist and co-founder Stuart Inglis recalls: ‘Back in the late-’70s I was a teenage punk. It might have even been Don Letts, but I wouldn't have known who he was at the time, but I saw The Clash down at the old Locarno ballroom in town and was curious, because there was a punk band playing, but all the DJing was reggae.

‘I didn't really understand at the time this connection which had happened, but John Peel used to play a lot of reggae. He played this session from Culture,’ the seminal Jamaican reggae act, ‘and it really grabbed me. They came to Portsmouth shortly afterwards, and they were the first reggae band I ever saw live.

‘That's the connection for me, so I like the idea of doing punky reggae party kind of stuff, and this nice mix of bands we've got coming up for this day on the pier.’

Emiliyah has fronted the band for a decade now after Stuart spotted a video of her singing on a mutual friend’s Facebook page. They had previously worked with Charlie Massiah, who died in 2011.

Stuart recalls: ‘It said she was looking for people to work with – I listened to the song and thought: “Wow!” Loved the song, loved the voice, and so I contacted her.

‘She agreed to come down from Stratford to Petersfield where I was living at the time and meet up to discuss it.

‘In the meantime I sent the link to our keyboard player Christian, and he said: “Yep, she's a keeper!”’

Emiliyah says: ‘At that time I had big issues with myself as I had had a long break from singing before that.

‘I was doing reggae music already as a solo artist, and I prayed to play with a live band, but I wasn't really sure because of the distance, and at the beginning it was quite hard with the travelling.’

But once she heard the songs Stuart and Christian were working on, she was sold.

‘The love for reggae just started growing in me even more – and with the knowledge of reggae and love for it in Stuart, it got into me too.’

The band puts out most of its material and related projects through its own Rainbow Ark Productions label, but has also worked with the local Mayfield Studios.

There’s a new song Chosen coming soon, but they are also working on an acoustic album, reworking their own material.

‘These are the songs our audience and our listeners already know but to do them acoustic versions, it's a bit like a new style to them,’ says Emiliyah, ‘it's a refreshed vibe for Emz AllStars – that's the name for it.

‘We're in the process of finishing that at the moment. Within our musical family there's a lot of things going on.’

Emiliyah has also recently taken over the reins of Tonic Ska Choir – a project set up by the music and mental health charity. She says: ‘It's been absolutely amazing. It's a new journey for me because I’d never seen myself as choir facilitator or conductor, so I had to learn things from scratch, how to do it, and learning new songs which is always great. And I’m understanding and getting more into ska music, because before it's all been about reggae!

‘It's so empowering, being able to being so much joy to a big group of people through music is absolutely priceless. It's a beautiful thing, and I'm hoping it will continue no matter what.’

It will take place on Sunday, August 21 from midday to 7pm, with headliners Paul-Ronney Angel and The Bad Mofos, plus The Racketeers, Black Kat Boppers, Palooka Five, Till I’m Bones and The Media. Tickets £20.

Go to book.events/pompeypunknroll. In the event of rain, the party moves in to The Gaiety.