Lloyd “Bread” McDonald of The Wailing Souls, a protege of Bob Marley who knew the reggae legend when they both lived in Trench Town, has given the recently released biopic the thumbs up.

Bread, his wife Leonie, and son Jamhari attended the February 6 premiere of Bob Marley: One Love in Los Angeles at the invitation of the Marley family.

He was pleased with the Paramount Pictures movie which stars British actors Kingsley Ben-Adir as Marley and Lashana Lynch as his wife Rita.

“Yes, I love the movie, I would see it again. Kingsley did a great job,” said Bread.

The Wailing Souls formed in Trench Town in 1968 with Bread and Pipe among the original members. They recorded several songs for The Wailers’ Tuff Gong label and sang backup on Trenchtown Rock — a 1971 classic by that group which at the time comprised Marley, PeterTosh and Bunny Wailer.

“Bob was like a big brother to me and my singing partner Pipe. We all used to share the same rehearsal yard [on Fourth Street in Trench Town] Wailers and Wailing Souls,” he related.

Bread said he last saw Marley at his Hope Road home in St Andrew two days before he left for what would be his final tour in 1980.

The reggae superstar died in May 1981 from cancer at age 36.

Along with Garth Dennis and Buddy Haye, Bread and Pipe formed the most successful version of The Wailing Souls. They recorded several hit songs at Channel One during the mid and late 1970s, such as Jah Jah Give us Life, Things and Time, War, and Bredda Gravilicious.

A number of A-listers attended the Los Angeles premiere, including Ben-Adir; Ziggy Marley, Marley’s eldest son; Brad Pitt; Stevie Wonder; and Chris Blackwell, founder of Island Records, the company that distributed Marley’s most famous albums.

Bob Marley: One Love, which had a production budget of US$70 million, officially opened worldwide on February 14 and has so far grossed over US$80 million at the global box office.