25 YEARS of JHE LONDON CALYPSO TENT

Home , Calypso tent, Edric Connor, Errol Brown, Russell Henderson, Sam Manning (musician), Young Tiger

25 YEARS OfJ HE LONDON CALYPSOTENT Calypso in London 25 YEARS OF THE LONDON CALYPSO TENT by STEPHEN SPARK With a historical introduction by John Cowley

Trafton Publishing On behalf of the Association of Calypsonians UK Calypso in London 25 years of the London Calypso Tent

The Association of Calypsonians UK (ACUK) The Yaa Centre, 1 Chippenham Mews, London W9 2AN Web: www.acukheritage.co.uk Email: [email protected]

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any mean, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher. Short passages only may be quoted for the purpose of review. For permission to quote or reproduce longer extracts, please apply in writing to the copyright-holders via the ACUK addresses above.

The publication of this book was made possible by the generous support of the Heritage Lottery Fund, the Westway Trust and Carnival Village.

ON OF TI C IA A C L Y O P S LONDON S

CALYPSO N

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TENT A

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ACUK Logo.indd 1 11/10/2017 09:54:56

Preface ...... iv

Acknowledgements ...... vi

Glossary ...... viii

The pioneers of calypso in Britain ...... 1

The London Calypso Tent ...... 6 Calypso and the start of Notting Hill Carnival ...... 6 Calypsonians ﬁght for their rights ...... 10 Early days at the Tent ...... 11 Junior interlude...... 13 Cloak’s decade ...... 15 Calypso enters the new millennium ...... 17 Woman take over ...... 19 The Tent moves to a new stage ...... 20 Calypso rising...... 22 Golden moments in a silver jubilee ...... 26 Tribute to Tiger ...... 28

Calypsonians in proﬁle ...... 32

London’s calypso roll of honour...... 63 Pre-ABC Calypso Monarchs 1974–1991 ...... 63 ABC/ACUK Calypso Monarchs 1992–2017 ...... 64 ABC/ACUK Groovy Soca Monarchs 2007–2017 ...... 65 ABC/ACUK Junior Calypso Monarchs 1993–2011 ...... 65 ABC/ACUK Black History Month Junior Monarchs 2005–2011 ...... 66

Behind the scenes ...... 67

III Preface

ack in 2005, Ashton Moore, known to generations of London calypso-lovers as the Mighty Tiger, president of the Association of British Calypsonians, proposed putting on a small exhibition at the old Yaa Asantewaa Centre of some of the Bphotographs the author had been taking over the past eight years for Soca News magazine. “Perhaps we could even produce a booklet,” I suggested. The project never progressed beyond the initial planning stage and was shelved. Over the years, more photographs were taken until one day someone pointed out that 2017 would be the London Calypso Tent’s silver jubilee. “Per- haps a small commemorative booklet could be produced,” I suggested. The small booklet somehow grew into a book and surrounded itself with an exhibition, calypso workshops, a dedicated archive at the London Metropolitan Archives (LMA) and an online archive. Writing a book is straightforward; sorting through hundreds of mostly indifer- ent photographs and choosing some acceptable views is less so, while attempt- ing to create a coherent picture of the past 25 years from the few scraps of paper that remained in the Association’s long-forgotten filing cabinet at the Yaa Centre proved harder still. Like so many other aspects of Caribbean culture and carnival in Britain, calypso has failed to take good care of its own history. Many of ACUK’s own records have been lost or disappeared into private hands. Few independ- ent reports of calypso performances survive, especially from the pre-ABC years, although from 1996 previews and reviews of the tent and results of the Monarch finals were (and still are) published from time to time in the magazine Soca News. From such an incomplete record, it has been impossible to do justice to the eforts of the calypsonians and organisers who kept the artform alive in Britain through its ‘wilderness years’, when calypso’s popularity had waned and it was too often dismissed as “old people’s music” – if it was even thought about at all. This book, then, is just a starting-point: it is full of gaps, inconsistencies and, despite the very best eforts of all concerned, doubtless contains inaccuracies. I can only ask readers to treat those flaws as a challenge – to research and write, to record, film and photograph, to collect the memories of those who were there and those who played a part in sustaining the calypso artform in London. The online archive – www.acukheritage.co.uk – is there to be used and added

IV PREFACE

to with information and memories, visuals and sound. The best of the physical artefacts, such as flyers, programmes or tapes, will find a safe home at the LMA’s Calypso Archive. Twenty-five years is a good point from which to look back on past achieve- ments and ahead to future prospects. Calypso is in good voice these days, but we need to bring on the youngsters so that the skills of composition and presentation are passed on to future generations. Tiger said, presciently, in 2006: “To develop calypso better you must involve the children. Because when people like me and the Mighty Sparrow die of, and these children know nothing about it, that means it’s dead.” To ensure we have something left to show our children and grandchildren, we need to take much greater care of our shared history and cultures. If we do not value them, we are failing to respect ourselves and dishonouring those who came before us. In the brochure for the first of her indoor ‘carnivals’ in 1959, Claudia Jones wrote, “A people’s art is the genesis of their freedom.” And no music better fits the description of “a people’s art” than calypso. Maybe that is why the artform has been looked down on by those who feel it is not a music worthy of serious study – at least in Britain. Nothing could be further from the truth: calypso in London has more vigour, polish, passion and imag- ination than the vast majority of mass-produced commercial music. Competition keeps it sharp; the ready wit of the audience keeps it grounded – on stage you can be a star, but afterwards you’ll have to queue at the bar like the rest of us! Above all, it’s such a pleasure. The last words belong, again, to the late Ashton Moore: Once you know there’s a calypso tent you just have to be there – it’s a feeling, it’s in your soul, it gets there. And once you’re a man like music… you just can’t get away from it. It’s a lovely thing. Stephen Spark, Balham, October 2017

V Acknowledgements

ehind any author’s name there lies a whole network of people without whom nothing of significance could have been published. Chief among these ‘unsung heroes’ (to borrow the title of one of his own B2017 compositions) is Alexander Loewenthal, whose work as calypsonian and educator Alexander D Great is known to so many. Despite endless tasks of his own, he has never failed to do his best in responding to the barrage of questions – often fired of in the middle of the night – about dates, names, titles and much more. The late Ashton Moore, aka the Mighty Tiger, will always have my gratitude for his enthusiasm and encouragement through my 20 years of reporting on and photographing performances at the Tent. Nicole-Rachelle Moore’s research into the history of calypso and the Tent and her well-written articles for Soca News have been valuable sources of information in preparing this small volume. John Cowley has established a solid reputation as one of the foremost researchers into music of Caribbean origin, and this book has been immeasurably enhanced by his historical introduction to this book. That tireless investigator and chronicler of Carnival and calypso, Ray Funk, has helped the project immeasurably by shedding light on the early days of calypso competitions in Britain. He also provided much valuable information through his interviews with ABC and ACUK members. Ruth Tompsett rode to the rescue at short notice, spending many hours sorting through her marvellous media archive to extract some gems – as well as providing much-needed encouragement. Thanks are due to Sonny Blacks, Horace Blake (Mighty Explorer), Jefrey Hinds (De Admiral) and Claire Holder for filling in many of the blank spaces in the record and helping to weed out some of the ‘alternative facts’ that had grown up over the years. If any remain, the fault is the author’s alone. Special thanks go to Deonte Harris, PhD researcher at UCLA, California, who has generously donated to ACUK’s new archive the research material he has amassed in the course of his studies, setting a marvellous example to other academics and students. More generally, the team working on activities marking the 25th anniversary of the London Calypso Tent wish to record their thanks to Maureen Roberts and

VI ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Sally Bevan at the London Metropolitan Archives, Tony Thomas for his work on ACUK’s new website (www.acukheritage.co.uk), Tara Hobson and Matthew Phillip at Carnival Village for their support, Phil McAllister for his forbearance and efciency in designing the book at very short notice, and our funders, the Heritage Lottery Fund and Westway Trust. And of course there cannot be thanks enough for those marvellous calypsonians who have given us all so much pleasure over the past 25 years. Without you, there would certainly be no book!

VII Glossary

ike all specialist subjects, calypso and Carnival have their own language, which may be unfamiliar to some readers. Bear in mind that although Trinidad & Tobago is an English-speaking country today, that was not always the case. LThe predominant language was formerly French-based Creole and echoes of that language are still to be found in some of the common terms employed in calypso and Carnival (such as Jouvert). The ﬁrst calypso sung wholly in English is reputed to have been ‘Jerningham de Governor’, which was ﬁrst heard on the streets of Port of Spain in February 1899. Readers seriously interested in the development of calypso and the other elements of Carnival are recommended to read John Cowley’s Carnival, Canboulay and Calypso, published by Cambridge University Press, ISBN 978 052 165389 3.

Bacchanal – Scandal, quarrelling, confusion. Often experienced in times past at carnival committee meetings Calypso King/Queen/Monarch – The winner of the competition for the best calypso, in terms of both content and performance. Originally known as Calypso King, the competition was changed to Calypso Monarch when women started winning Calypsonian – Purists (such as the Mighty Tiger) restrict this word to those who both write and perform their songs; those who merely perform should, they say, properly be called ‘calypso singers’. In practice, all tend to be termed ‘calypsonians’, because few people know whether the performer paid a writer for the song or wrote it themselves Carib – A popular brand of Trinidadian beer – indispensable at a fete Carnival – From the Latin carne vale, farewell to meat, representing the last day of indulgence in earthly pleasures – meat, drink, music, dance and general revelry – before the fasting and self-denial of Lent. In countries with Catholic heritage in the Caribbean, South America, Europe and the southern US states, this ﬁnal ﬂing takes place on Mardi Gras, or Fat Tuesday (Shrove Tuesday in England); the fasting starts on Ash Wednesday. The origins of Carnival are pre-Christian in origin, stretching back at least to Ancient Egypt. African slaves who were brought to the West Indies also carried with them their own carnivalesque practices, including drum dances and mas-

VIII GLOSSARY

querading. After the abolition of slavery, these two traditions began to come together in Trinidad in the 1830s and 1840s. Like other European countries, Medieval England also celebrated Carnival, and carnivalesque festivities also took place at other times of the year. In later centuries these revels were progressively suppressed by the authorities, so that by the 1870s most Carnival traditions had been extinguished in Britain. Eighty years later, immigrants from the Caribbean reintroduced the concept, albeit in a diferent form As it is practised today, Carnival may be defined (in Caribbean terms) as ‘music, mas and movement on the road’. Static music and mas make a costume party, mas moving without music on the road is a procession – hence all the elements are needed together to create a carnival. Chantrell, chantwell – A precursor of the calypsonian. The chantwell was a singer who accompanied a stickfighting (calinda) band and would have sung in Creole. Their songs, known as carisos – later called calypsos – egged on the band’s stickfighters while denigrating the opposition with picong (satire and insult). The call-and-response chants were called lavways. The style and format derived from the griot, the traditional African trouba- dour-like praise-singer, storyteller and musician. Modern calypso competitions still emphasise the importance of social commentary allied to inventive invec- tive, satire and humour, and so link directly to the griot tradition. Meanwhile, the lavways, which were simple and memorable enough to be taken up by a crowd of supporters, are essentially carried on at Carnival today through soca songs, which are generally characterised by fast, danceable beats and simpler lyrics Fete – A party of any kind, almost certainly with music and drink involved. Pronounced ‘fet’ Kaiso – 1. Another name for calypso music (the origin of the word is hotly contested). 2. A shout of approval from the audience in response to a particularly good calypso – it is reputed to be a West African word meaning “Bravo!” King/Queen of the Tent – The calypsonian who wins the popular vote from the audience in the tent, for example judged by the loudest cheers. Known as ‘People’s Choice’ in the London Calypso Tent Liming – Hanging out, socialising, meeting up with friends for a drink and a gossip about the latest bacchanal at the mas camp. The word is said to derive from the habits of ‘Limeys’ (British soldiers) in the Caribbean Mas – Masquerade; in essence, costume. To play mas implies more than just putting on a costume; the masquerader traditionally was expected to embody whatever their costume portrayed. For the duration of Carnival, someone playing Bat (a traditional Carnival mas) efectively became a bat for the day. A mas band is an organised group of costumed revellers, run by a band leader.

IX GLOSSARY

Masqueraders’ costumes portray an overall theme, perhaps split into several sub-thematic sections. The costumes are made at a mas camp, which may be anything from a church hall to the band leader’s living room Picong – A verbal duel, eg between rival calypsonians; banter/repartee, eg from audience members at a calypso tent (from the French piquant, meaning sharp or spicy) Road march – The calypso or soca tune that is played by the largest number of mas bands passing the judging point at Carnival. It is seen as a measure of the popularity of a tune on the road Soca – A fast-tempo dance-oriented music for Carnival and fetes that has developed from innovations introduced by calypsonian Lord Shorty (Garfield Blackman, later Ras Shorty I, 1941–2000). In 1973, Shorty combined Indian rhythms and instrumentation with the calypso structure in a song called ‘Indrani’. Soca is often defined as a combination of soul and calypso, but in Rudolph Ottley’s Calypsonians from Then to Now, Vol 1, Shorty explained its true origin: I called it ‘Sokah’ which represented the soul of calypso. The ‘kah’ in the word represented the East Indian influence in the music. It was not meant to be American soul in calypso, that was not my thought. ABC president Mighty Tiger stressed the parent-child relationship between calypso and soca: Soca I still call calypso; it is a part of calypso. People want to define soca as a diferent kind of music, but it came out of calypso. Soubriquet/sobriquet – The calypsonian’s stage name; eg Ashton Moore’s soubriquet was the Mighty Tiger. In the past it was often a name bestowed on a young singer by an established calypsonian as a form of nickname. Today, it seems to be more usual for the aspiring calypsonian to choose his/her own soubriquet. Some now dispense with one altogether or simply reduce their surname to an initial, eg Dave B, Helena B and Rev B. Sound system – Notting Hill is unusual among the world’s carnivals by including static sound systems – originally developed in Jamaica – that play genres of music not traditionally associated with Carnival. The introduction of static sound systems by Leslie Palmer in 1973 was intended to attract to Notting Hill younger people of Jamaican heritage. At the time, the innovation was highly controversial and some in the calypso, soca, mas and steelpan communities still resent their presence Steelpan – The national instrument of Trinidad & Tobago; it is reputed to have been the only acoustic instrument invented in the 20th century. The British colonial authorities banned drumming in their Caribbean and Indian Ocean possessions, as they believed drums could be a means of spreading insurrection. Carnival

X GLOSSARY

revellers got round the ban first by beating out a rhythm on the road with bamboo cut to diferent lengths to give some variation in timbre (tamboo bamboo). This evolved into the iron band, employing any convenient pieces of metal that could be struck to create a rhythm. Then, while Carnival was suspended during the Second World War, empty 55 gallon oil drums from US bases on Trinidad were cut, fired and the tops beaten to make a concave surface, which, it was found, allowed diferent notes to be played. Development was so rapid that in 1951 the Trinidad All Steel Percussion Orchestra (TASPO) was formed and sent to the UK to play at the Festival of Brit- ain on London’s South Bank and elsewhere. Steelbands were soon in demand at society weddings and parties, and the presence of a small steelband at the first street parade in Notting Hill played a major part in ‘West Indianising’ the multicultural festival. For its first 10 years, steelbands were the dominant providers of music for Notting Hill Carnival and are still the only type of music permitted at the carnival-opening event, Jouvert. There has long been a strong connection between calypso and steelpan, with calypsonians such as Lord Kitchener writing music that was enthusiastically adopted by steelbands. ACUK member Alexander D Great features steelpan in compositions co-written with pannist Debra Romain, while former ABC members D Jamma and Prodigal Son are also respected steelpan players. Tent – The venue for calypso performance and competition, and so named because in Trinidad the ‘hall’ was originally a temporary structure of bamboo poles and palm leaves, often put up in the yard behind a mas camp. Calypsonian Railway Douglas (Walter Douglas) is credited with starting the first regular tent, in 1921. These days the tent is a permanent hall of some kind, such as a converted factory, like the old Yaa Asantewaa Centre (the London Calypso Tent’s home from 1992 to 2007) or a converted church, like its present venue, the Tabernacle, in Powis Square.

XI Calypso is the frst music of the Caribbean Mighty Tiger (Ashton Moore)

XII The pioneers of calypso in Britain

hile it is unlikely we shall ever learn the name of the first person to bring the skill of the calypsonian to Britain, a starting point for discussion is the First World War, when Raymond Quevedo (famous songster Atilla the Hun) Wrecalled in 1936 that several ‘chantrells’ served in the armed forces. He named (using their singing appellations) Albany, Douglas, Hero, Kandahar, Miller and Wellington. For most, their military training would have been undertaken in Britain, all probably serving with the British West Indies Regiment, which drilled at Seaford in Sussex before leaving for overseas duties. Some Trinidad-born tradition bearers, musicians in their spare time, were in the merchant marine and at least one, bassist Gerald ‘Al’ Jennings, had enlisted with the Navy. Several of those who served at sea, mainly as crew, chose to stay in the United Kingdom at the end of hostilities and performed music in various capaci- ties – for example, Isaac Augustus Newton was sometimes engaged as a drummer, Arthur ‘Brylo’ Ford played string instruments but was also a flautist, while Cyril ‘Midnight’ Blake was a guitarist who took up the trumpet. Blake spent time in Paris, where he joined the French Antillean band led by Guadeloupean Felix Valvert – they played biguines, the black music tradition originating in the Francophone Caribbean. Brylo Ford was based in Cardif during the 1920s. Mostly these personalities were engaged in bands that featured the latest fashionable music, especially jazz, and few occasions allowed them to introduce less familiar idiomatic Caribbean island repertoire, although the rise of the rumba in the 1930s changed this pattern. Gramophone records were one way that people became aware of evolutions in island styles. In 1927 British Parlophone released nine couplings of principally Trinidad-orientated music recorded by expatriates in New York. This added to the mix of sources available to black Caribbean musicians domiciled in the UK. Some of these musicians were based in port cities, where contact with seamen helped keep them in touch with West Indian-based musical developments. Higher-profile personal performance of calypso probably began with the arrival in London from the United States of Trinidad-born pianist and bandleader Lionel Belasco and vaudevillian Sam Manning in 1934. Almost certainly they engaged the ‘All British-Coloured’ Orchestra of Guyanese clarinettist Rudolph Dunbar. This ensemble, nominally under Belasco’s leadership, made records for

1 THE PIONEERS OF CALYPSO IN BRITAIN

Decca on 9 August that year, with Manning providing vocals for four of the 12 sides. None was a calypso, however; the rhythms ranged from rumbas to valses, representing the dance music then in vogue. There was a separate session under Belasco’s name for Imperial-Broadcast, and in this instance it was Dun- bar’s regular vocalist Juan Harrison (born in Jamaica) who sang on four or five of the six titles recorded, some of which interpreted traditional Caribbean forms. Belasco returned to the United States in October, but Manning remained in Britain and in September launched his ‘All Coloured Revue’, Harlem Night Birds, which toured the UK’s vaudeville theatres. The cast of 25 comprised British black talent, either locally or West Indian-born, but occasionally with black North American participation. The show used a North American model for its structure, but incorporated Caribbean themes, including calypsos, in what was reported to have been a 16-act programme of comic sketches and music. The revue took to the road in Poplar, east London, in September 1934 and passed through the Midlands and northern England before returning south. In 1935 the company visited Ireland as well as northern venues once more before its final engagement at the Lewisham Hippodrome at the beginning of June 1935. Probably on the strength of this successful tour and his earlier recordings in the United States (some available locally since 1927) Manning, with his West Indian Rhythm Boys, secured a contract for four sides with Parlophone, which were recorded in July. These comprised two ‘West Indian Negro Spirituals’ (from the black North American corpus) on which Manning sang the lead with chorus, a solo vocal version of Sweet Willie (which might be described as his theme song; he later identified it as a St Lucian biguine), and a Gus Newton vocal of the Indo-Trinidadian chant Ara Dada. During the summer of 1935 the crisis over the prospect of an Italian inva- sion of Ethiopia became acute. Manning was the consort of Amy Ashwood Garvey (separated first wife of Marcus Garvey, the Jamaican-born founder of the Universal Negro Improvement Association), and he played a role in the African Friends of Abyssinia that had been formed under the leadership of C L R James. Their committee meeting-place was the restaurant in New Oxford Street that the couple ran before opening the Florence Mills Social Parlour in Carnaby Street in 1936. Rudolph Dunbar acted as musical director at the latter establishment where, during late August, he welcomed the famous black American sprinter Jesse Owens, fresh from his victory at the notorious Berlin Olympic Games. There is no direct evidence that calypsos were included at the Carnaby Street venue, though it seems likely that Sam Manning, as an interpreter of the genre, would have performed such songs during his entertainments. In the same year an all-British black orchestra, the Jamaican Emperors, was formed under the tutelage of Jamaican trumpet player Leslie Thompson. It was mod- elled on similar black American units that since March 1935 had been prohibited

2 THE PIONEERS OF CALYPSO IN BRITAIN

to tour in Britain as a result of a dispute over musician reciprocation that lasted many years. Eventually, Guyanese dancer Ken ‘Snakehips’ Johnson grasped leadership and in 1937 brought in musicians direct from Guyana and Trinidad to augment the line-up of this West Indian Dance Orchestra. In the autumn of 1938, British Decca issued for the local market a sample of six 78-rpm calypso couplings in its Brunswick line. They had been drawn from the dedicated catalogue of Decca’s US branch, which made seasonal recordings by Trinidadian performers each year from 1935. Also in 1938, Ken Johnson planned to take his band to the World’s Fair in New York the following year, intending to feature calypsos and other music from the West Indies; however, the tour never took place. Later that year, on the opening day of the First Test Match between the West Indies and England at Lord’s (24 June 1939), John- son presented a programme of contemporary calypso records and other West Indian music on the BBC London regional service, to celebrate the cricket tour- nament. Just over two months later (3 September), Britain and France declared war on Germany and the Second World War began. BBC radio broadcasts of calypsos performed in Britain became a morale-boosting feature during the war, usually by bands under the leadership of Cyril Blake. Several programmes were transmitted on overseas and forces networks, mostly with vocals by Blake or Gus Newton and featuring a mix of newly written topical lyrics and older repertoire. A few nationally net- worked broadcasts of calypso records took place (in line with the Ken Johnson programme). Al Jennings, who had once more enlisted with the Navy, was seconded to a 1943 British propaganda film aimed at island audiences, Hello West Indies. He provided a musical component, conducting a band playing his calypso composition ‘Goodbye Little Girl’, sung by Jamaican crooner Archie Lewis. After arriving in the UK in 1944, Trinidadian baritone Edric Connor also championed calypso on the airwaves. Al Jennings returned to Trinidad in mid-1945 and recruited an All-Star Carib- bean Orchestra that came to Britain in November bringing a significant number of musicians skilled at accompanying island calypso singers. Just over one year later two such exponents, Lord Beginner (Egbert Moore) and Lord Kitchener (Aldwyn Roberts) arrived in Jamaica within days of each other for the Christmas season. They had planned to return to Trinidad for the pre-Car- nival cycle, but they enjoyed such success that the pair stayed in Jamaica until the end of May, when they took the troopship MV Empire Windrush to London, arriving at Tilbury on 22 June 1948. For the first time, practising Trinidadian singers were in the United Kingdom intent on promoting calypso. Beginner, with a reputation from earlier recordings, soon made BBC broadcasts and took a job with the Jose Norman rumba band at the exclusive Churchill’s Niterie. Kitchener, accompanied by the band of Guyanese trumpeter Rannie Hart, began singing in south London hotel bars.

3 THE PIONEERS OF CALYPSO IN BRITAIN

Roaring Lion was a businessman as well as a calypsonian and ran the Coloured People’s Accommodation Bureau in London (courtesy of The Roaring Lion Calypso Foundation)

In the immediate post-war period, London became a mecca for visitors from all over the British Commonwealth, including a return trip from the USA by Lionel Belasco (September 1948), and a visit by another Trinidad calypsonian, Lord Caresser (Rufus Callender), who did not meet with success. Kitchener, however, recorded for Renico Simmons’ Humming Bird label at the end of that year. Like Beginner, Kitch built a reputation in London’s club and theatre-land that secured him a ﬂow of engagements. These activities led to calypso recording sessions by both performers, accompanied by Cyril Blake’s Caribbean band, for Parlophone in early 1950, which established their reputations in the United Kingdom. More recordings and other work opportunities followed. Likewise, black West Indian musicians gained opportunities to play idiomatic styles alongside the dance and jazz repertoire that provided regular employment. The Festival of Britain in 1951 proved to be another catalyst for enhancing the proﬁle of calypso. In July, performances by the Trinidad All Steel Percussion Orchestra (TASPO) at the Festival popularised steelpan music in the country. Further bolstering Trinidad’s musical representation, the highly experienced calypsonian Roaring Lion (known then as Rafael de Leon) arrived in the UK at the end of August, and early in September he performed alongside TASPO at the Festival. Lion soon secured recording contracts and singing engagements.

4 THE PIONEERS OF CALYPSO IN BRITAIN

A primary avenue for promoting Caribbean genres was the British jazz fra- ternity and in 1952 the Grant-Lyttleton Paseo Band toured the country. The band mixed Caribbean and New Orleans style music and featured musicians from the Humphrey Lyttelton band (schooled in New Orleans jazz) and West Indian performers under the leadership of Guyanese reedman Freddy Grant. Vocals were shared between Trinidadians George Browne and Brylo Ford, Jamaican Tony Johnson and, from Guyana, Bill Rogers (Augustus Hinds, on a brief visit to the UK), plus the black American singer Marie Bryant. The folk music circuit provided another route by which calypso could reach a wider audience. An example was a ‘Ballads and Blues’ event held in June 1953 at the Theatre Royal, Stratford, east London. It was notable for experienced folk singers such as Alan Lomax, Bert Lloyd and Ewan MacColl being trounced in an improvisation contest by Lord Beginner, whose skills had been honed by numerous ‘calypso war’ competitions in calypso tents back in Trinidad. Another well-known Trinidadian with tent singing experience who came to Britain in March 1954 was the Mighty Terror (Cornelius Fitzgerald Henry). He too made records soon after his arrival in the country and joined the coterie of experienced vocalists from his homeland who found singing employment. However, all the calypsonians who had domiciled in England found that full-time assignments were few and far between. Rupert Grant, better known as Lord Invader, came to Britain by way of the United States in March 1956. He was the last Trinidadian calypsonian to make a mark in the UK during the 1950s. One of his ﬁrst assignments was to compose and perform a calypso on the wedding of ﬁlm star Grace Kelly to Prince Rainier III of Monaco (18 April), which he duly did for the BBC, which broadcast his contribution two days later. Invader subsequently made a commercial recording of the piece. After spending time here and in Europe, Invader went back to the United States in 1958 and thence his homeland. This signalled a trend over the next few years, as island calypsonians in the UK reverted to Trinidad. The prompt for Lord Kitchener was a visit to Britain by dominant island calypsonian Mighty Sparrow (Slinger Francisco), who came over to perform at a special West Indian Gazette-sponsored indoor ‘carnival’ at Seymour Hall, London, on 23 March 1962. Visiting Kitch in Manchester, Sparrow endeavoured to persuade him to join his 1963 tent, but although Kitchener did indeed return to Trinidad it was not in partnership but to compete with his rival.

5 The London Calypso Tent

he London Calypso Tent is truly remarkable. Against all the odds, it has survived to celebrate its silver jubilee and it remains the only calypso tent in Europe. It receives little publicity, has been shamefully ignored by most Tof the Black-run media never mind the mainstream press and broadcasters, and in the past it has not always received the support it deserved from Notting Hill Carnival’s organisers. Yet its 25th season, in August 2017, was one of the most successful ever – certainly in terms of the quality of the performances enjoyed by audiences at the Tabernacle.

Calypso and the start of Notting Hill Carnival The history of the tent is bound up, of course, with that of the Association of Calypsonians UK (ACUK), which for most of those 25 years was known as the Association of British Calypsonians (ABC). But, as John Cowley pointed out in the previous chapter, calypso has a history in Britain that stretches back more than a century, and the ABC was certainly not the first body to bring together calypsonians in the UK. Nor was the ABC’s Calypso Monarch contest in the tent’s opening year, 1992, the first such competition. So where and when did Britain’s tradition of regular live calypso performances and competitions start? According to Nicole-Rachelle Moore, quoted in Caribbean Beat magazine (Jul/Aug 2015), Britain’s first Calypso Monarch was the Mighty Terror (Cornelius Fitzgerald Henry, 1921–2007), who sang ‘I Walk a Million Miles’ to beat a dozen other contestants in 1957. This pioneering event took place at Chelsea Town Hall and was judged by calypsonian Roaring Lion and Trinidadian singer, actor and impresario Edric Connor (1913–1968). In her 1998 University of North London thesis on calypso, Moore says the show was organised by the League of Coloured Peoples’ Association, but it has not been possible to trace an organisation with this exact name. There was an early civil rights movement called the League of Coloured Peoples, but it folded in 1951, while the Universal Coloured People’s Association, a Black Power group, only started in 1967; neither therefore existed in 1957. One organisation had just started in May 1957, however: the Metropoli- tan Coloured People’s Housing Association. Like Roaring Lion’s bureau, it was founded to help newly arrived workers from the Caribbean find accommodation in the capital. Among its committee members was Pearl Connor, the wife of Edric Connor, who had judged the Chelsea calypso contest. The latter went on to direct the indoor ‘Caribbean Carnival’ held at St Pancras Town Hall on 30 January 1959 – and among those taking part in that event was Chelsea victor Mighty Terror.

6 THE LONDON CALYPSO TENT

The St Pancras show was the first of a series organised each year by Trin- idadian civil rights activist and newspaper editor Claudia Jones that brought together the capital’s Caribbean musicians, singers, designers and artists. The shows surely played an important role in creating and reinforcing an informal artistic network for the diaspora. Jones died in December 1964, and the indoor ‘carnivals’ died with her, but the links and friendships endured. Those connections proved invaluable when social worker Rhaune Laslett had a ‘vision’ of a multicultural neighbourhood festival in Notting Hill and North Kensington. Held under the banner of the London Free School, the inaugural ‘Notting Hill Fayre’ opened with a street parade on 12 September 19661. When homesick West Indians heard the strains of Russell Henderson’s steelband drift- ing down the road, the die was cast. Laslett’s little local festival coincided with an upswell of counter-culture, protest and social change, and nowhere more so than in west London’s soot- stained streets. In a similar way to Jones’s shows, the festival became a focus for artists and musicians. There were hippies and ‘happenings’, but above all it became a showcase for the music of the capital’s growing African-Caribbean population. Within five years the carnival had become the dominant element of the festival and within a decade Notting Hill Carnival had grown into Europe’s biggest celebration of Black, specifically Caribbean, culture. In 1971, Ashton Moore was one of the hundreds of young men who left the Car- ibbean – in his case Trinidad & Tobago – to work for London Transport. He had started singing calypso while still at school and, encouraged by the Mighty Duke (Kelvin Pope), performed in calypso tents under the soubriquet Young Tiger2 (to distinguish himself from one of the elder statesmen of calypso, Growling Tiger). In this period, calypsonians in Britain were largely operating under the media’s radar, singing in clubs and pubs, and at West Indian dances and occa-

1 Russell Henderson said that the ﬁrst parade took place on the summer bank holiday 1964 (3 August), when his pan-round-the-neck side played at a children’s street party in a blocked-of residential road. He, Sterling Betancourt (an ex-TASPO player) and Ralph Cherrie then decided to remove the barriers and play their pans down the road – and naturally the children followed! The story has been widely circulated, but unsurprisingly the event was not reported at the time so cannot be wholly corroborated. Henderson’s steelband had played at Jones’s shows since 1960 and also at the Coleherne pub, where Laslett’s partner, Jim O’Brien, had seen them in action. The Coleherne was also the meeting place for the West Indian Students’ Association founded by Jones in 1958. Although Laslett’s ‘Fayre’ was not intended to be a successor to Jones’s indoor ‘Carnival’, these connections between the two events provided a measure of continuity.

2 Confusingly, there was another calypsonian in Britain called Young Tiger. Edric Browne was born in Port of Spain, Trinidad, on 4 May 1920 and changed his name to George E Browne. He moved to Britain in 1941 and is best known for his 1953 calypso on the coronation of Queen Eliza- beth II, ‘I Was There’. After considerable success on the club and party circuit, he gave up performing in 1970 – the year before Ashton Moore reached London – and died on 23 March 2007.

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Lions in London: Roaring Lion strikes a conﬁdent pose in Trafalgar Square (courtesy of The Roaring Lion Calypso Foundation)

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sional shows. Gu-Gu Root and Soca Boca (possibly the Grenadian DJ, MP and lawyer Robert Grant), were two who were said to have been active at this time, performing at the Caribbean Club in Acton, west London. The gigs were inter- mittent; the pay even more so. On 10 November 1978 we find Young Tiger at the Commonwealth Institute in Kensington (now the Design Museum) supporting his hero, the Mighty Sparrow (Slinger Francisco). On the flyer for that show, Tiger was billed as the “UK first ever Calypso King”. But where and when did he gain that title? Some form of competition seems to have taken place in 1974, which is reputed to have been won by a calypsonian called Big Davy. This was Evral Davy, who also recorded under the soubriquets Young Growler and Baldhead Growler and may have lent his voice to some of the bizarre reggae singles produced by Jamaican Laurel Aitken under the name King Horror. Promoter Sonny Blacks remembers him as being a good singer. It was Tiger, though, who had the staying power, winning the first ‘ofcial’ calypso contest in 1976 at Hammersmith Town Hall, singing ‘My School Days’. Despite never receiving the promised recording contract with Spice Records and £100 prize money, he competed again in 1977 and 1978 and won both times. According to that indefatigable researcher into all things calypso, Ray Funk, there were two competitions in 1979, one organised by the Carnival & Arts Committee (CAC) and the other by the rival Carnival Development Committee (CDC): Tiger won one and shared the crown with Lord Cloak (Errol Brown) in the other. Tiger – who by now had become the Mighty Tiger – and Cloak dominated the tussle for calypso honours over the next 20 years. In 1983, there was an upset, as the title went for the first time to a female calypsonian, Soca Baby (Betty Alexander) for ‘Soca in London’. Other competitors that year were the veteran Golden Cockerel (Vivian Comma, 1914–1998), Congoes (Michael Friday), Big Davy, Peace & Love (Denis Williams), Emperor Smokey and the Mighty Cobra. Although they were listed on the bill, Tiger and Cloak reportedly boycotted the 1983 contest, but they were back the following year. Cloak’s ‘Fat Woman’ secured him the honours. In 1985 it was Lucky (Patrick Humphrey) who lived up to his soubriquet. According to one source, he also won the 1988 contest, but another maintains that it was won by Voodoo Queen (Patricia Gillian, an English doctor who also sang in Trinidad); it is possible that, as in 1979, two competitions were held. During this period, Len Homer and his band, Homer’s Odyssey, provided the music at many of the larger events, and a decade later his son Derek went on to play a pivotal role in the success of the London Calypso Tent. The famous party anthem ‘Hot, Hot, Hot’, by Arrow (Alphonsus Cassell, from Montserrat), was released in 1983 and its success, and that of the 1984 follow-up, ‘Long Time’, put the spotlight on soca. Calypso, by contrast, had a lower profile and tended to be treated as the poor relation by Notting Hill Carnival organisers, who focused their attention on steelpan, soca and static sound systems. There

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was rare public exposure for calypso in 1986 – and a taste of things to come many years later – when Mighty Tiger, Lord Cloak, Lucky, Wounded Soldier and others performed on a stage erected in Powis Square. Wounded Soldier was none other than carnival organiser Leslie ‘Teacher’ Palmer. He was the man who introduced static sound systems to Notting Hill in 1973 – an innovation that some carnivalists still ﬁnd hard to accept.

Calypsonians fight for their rights Winning competitions brought honour, but little reward; some show promoters simply didn’t pay their dues. In her University of North London thesis of 1998, Tiger’s niece, Nicole-Rachelle Moore, quoted him saying: “It was a scampish sort of business with too many rip-of artists.” Eighteen years later, the way calypsonians were treated in the 70s and 80s was still a sore point. In an interview with the author of this book in 2006, Tiger recalled: It was a rip-of: you sing for them, they give shows and they wouldn’t pay you your money… Some promoters were just robbing. The answer seemed to be to band together to try to fight for a fair deal. In the mid-1980s the UK’s Carnival artforms began to organise themselves, creating associations for steelbands and sound systems, and in 1986 a Trinidadian businessman and calypso enthusiast named Al Hector founded the European Association of Calypsonians (EAC). The Mighty Explorer (Horace Blake) recalled how he became involved: The president was Al Hector, a chap who I know from 1967. He thought I was a Jamaican when he saw me that night, 1986… and then I saw Tiger… and soon after [on] that night Cloak walk in the room. Well, when I saw Tiger I said to myself, I think I must join these blokes, because Astronaut [Derryck Neckles] was encouraging me for a long time to come and join. Through the EAC, the calypsonians now had a voice on the board of the Carnival & Arts Committee, whose chair from 1984 to 1989 was the broadcaster Alex Pascall. Hector – whom Sonny Blacks described as “very mysterious… very clever” – passed away in 1990, and his wife Angela took over. By then, though, EAC had lost momentum and it was clear that something new was needed. Claire Holder, chair of the Carnival Enterprise Committee (CEC), which had taken over from CAC in 1989, says that she proposed setting up a new organisation and even suggested the name: the Association of British Calypsonians (ABC). Holder, a barrister, drew up the constitution and was awarded honorary lifetime membership; she says she still has the framed certificate. Explorer confirms it was Holder who started the ball rolling: Claire Holder took it on herself and she wrote to every calypsonian that she knows on their [CEC’s] records to a meeting… I must say now if it wasn’t

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for Claire Holder, there wouldn’t be any ABC. She’s the one who did write to everybody… and start to get meetings together, that we have that competition that took place in Dougie’s from 1991. And she’s the same one by her reaction [that] cause us to form the ABC. The ABC came about in response to the 1991 Calypso Monarch Semi-Finals. They were held in the carnival ofce. There was no money for a band, so the calypsonians were told to accompany themselves by beating time on a table! Rock-bottom had been reached. The calypsonians were furious at the way they had been treated. Explorer recalls Tiger saying, in typically forthright fash- ion: “Well, I’m not beating no table – who want to beat table could beat table!” Astronaut was really angry, and according to Explorer said: Look, we not going to get the Notting Hill committee to do something, let’s form a tent. Leh’ we form a tent and we could show them that we don’t got to depend on them. Astronaut suggested that Mighty Tiger should be the one to lead the new organisation, as only he had ever sung in a calypso tent. In his 2006 interview, Tiger said he was initially reluctant to take up the reins of the association that he ended up running for more than two decades: I didn’t want to get involved in the thing, to be honest. I had an easy life doing my little job and I was getting a little calypso work here and there, always being robbed… To take on that responsibility, it was a heavy bur- den. Because I know from my experience in Trinidad trying to run a calypso tent was a heavy job. But I love calypso… Tiger admitted: The constitution was rather dictatorial, to be honest, and it had to be… because calypsonians is a wayward bunch, I must tell you that. I thought it was only in Trinidad they behave like that, but when I got to England and dealing with these local calypsonians who never visited Trinidad, they behave the same way! I don’t know whether it’s something to do with the music, or whatever. Under Tiger’s ﬁrm hand and that “dictatorial” constitution, and with Notting Hill Carnival under equally strong and stable leadership, ABC was able to lay down the foundations for an event that has deﬁned the position of calypso in Britain for a quarter of a century: the London Calypso Tent.

Early days at the Tent ABC’s very ﬁrst calypso tent opened its doors at 7.30pm on Friday 7 August 1992. The venue that day was to be home to the tent and the ABC for many years: the Yaa Asantewaa Centre at 1 Chippenham Mews, in Maida Hill. This was

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thanks to Yaa’s director, Shabaka Thompson, and it was a £1,000 cash injection from Yaa that enabled ABC to hold its first tent season. Explorer maintains it was Lord Cloak who suggested that the Yaa as a suitable venue for a calypso tent and first discussed the idea with Thompson. In its tent days the Yaa was an engagingly eccentric and atmospheric place, with a tiny sentry box of a ticket ofce next to a gated archway. From here you walked down a driveway, which became a liming area during the interval. When it opened in 1974, the arts centre had been called The Factory, and there was no disguising the building’s industrial origins. According to one source, it was used for making artificial limbs. The audience was split into two, one half facing the small and rather basic stage, while the rest of the crowd watched as best they could from one side. At the back lay a small bar, where patience, persis- tence or influence were needed to get a drink – and the chances were that, by the time you were served, the only Carib left was warm! Despite its drawbacks, the old Yaa was a friendly place, both intimate and informal, which was ideal for a calypso tent. This, then, was where that first audience trekked to see (as the inaugural programme put it) “the renown British Calypso Masters” [sic] – Lord Cloak, the Mighty Tiger, Lucky, Explorer, the Golden Cockerel, Astronaut, Congoes, Sweet- foot (Don Caesar), Don King, Admiral Jack (Jefrey Hinds), Peace & Love, Prince Yacob (Berris Henriques) and Mara-Caibo (Winston Alexis, later just Caibo). These were all founder members of the ABC, and happily Lord Cloak and Admi- ral Jack (now known as De Admiral) were still keeping audiences enthralled in the silver jubilee tent of 2017. As an added attraction, the opening night featured two special guests from Trinidad: Singing Francine (Francine Edwards) and Gypsy (Winston Peters). As well as being a renowned calypsonian, who in 2017 captured his tenth T&T extempo crown, Peters has also served his country as a government minister. The programme listed two more local calypsonians, but they did not take to the stage on the opening night: Bravo and Dezzy Boy (Conrad Attile, “St Lucia’s King”). The MC for the night was the Prince of Soca himself, Martin Jay, whose Sunday night programme on Choice FM, Caribbean Afair, was essential listen- ing for calypso and soca fans. For the Calypso King Finals on 21 August 1992, the action moved to Clap- ton’s celebrated palace of soca, Intermezzo Night Club, previously known as Dougie’s. The event was sponsored by Notting Hill Carnival Enterprise Limited, the successor to the Carnival Enterprise Committee. Although the organiser had changed from EAC to ABC, the head that wore the crown was the same: Lord Cloak’s. Save for one year, Cloak won every Calypso Monarch competition throughout the 1990s – a remarkable record. The 1992 result did not meet with universal approval. Two members of the audience wrote to the Caribbean Times to protest at the way the competition

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had been run. Ms Williams, of Croydon, called Cloak’s win “a great injustice” and believed that Lucky’s second place was: blatant robbery, as his songs were by far superior in content, performance and overall talent The following week, Anna Shadows, of SE20, agreed, not only complaining about Cloak’s criticism of the Notting Hill Carnival Committee – a regular target for his barbs over the years – but also raising suspicions about the MC’s appar- ent friendliness with the judges. Shadows was clearly a fan of Dezzy Boy: a young Artiste who, when seen in action, has… originality, stage performance, charisma and all the qualities of an all round entertainer… [with] a brilliant voice, and the ability to hold the attention of his audience Calypso, Carnival and controversy have walked hand in hand from the very start! From the outset, ABC members performed at other events during and after the Notting Hill Carnival season, and at a Christmas Calypso Tent on 13 Decem- ber 1992 at the Yaa Asantewaa Centre, the line-up included Mighty Tiger, Lucky, Sweetfoot, Dezzy Boy, Peace & Love and Sister Rama. A preview in the Caribbean Times said that the organisers: must be applauded for their eforts in promoting a deeper appreciation of Calypso as a musical form to be enjoyed the whole year round and not just as a musical sideshow wheeled out at carnival time. The point is just as valid today as it was a quarter of a century ago, and the concentrated focus of all the Carnival artforms on the month of August in Lon- don, climaxing in the two days of Notting Hill Carnival, has sometimes served to undermine that “deeper appreciation”. In 1993 we ﬁnd the six Monarch ﬁnalists (including the elderly Golden Cock- erel in a gold lamé bodysuit) trying to inject some Caribbean warmth into a small and very wet audience at Willoughby Recreation Ground in Tottenham. This was the last of the Socalypso outdoor events put on by L&H Promotions, run by Keith Lakhan and Danny Holder (brother of Claire Holder). The show was notable for a stellar line-up of overseas artistes – David Rudder, Black Stalin, Flying Cloud and Reasons Orchestra, among others.

Junior interlude Many of ABC’s members had arrived in the 1960s and 70s and were now in middle age or beyond. Immigration from the Caribbean had slowed to a trickle, so the artform in Britain clearly needed young blood if it was to have a long-term future. Tiger recalled: “Children of Caribbean parents in this country were not singing calypso; they were singing rap and reggae.” When he asked them why,

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they answered, “Only old people sing calypso.” It was fair comment, Tiger felt; what the children were missing were role models: So I encouraged the ministry [in Trinidad & Tobago] to send a junior calypsonian over to England, who at the time was Kerwin Du Bois. That’s the first junior I brought over here… I spent money from my own pocket to bring that boy over here because I could see what was going to happen in the future. Du Bois’ presence at the 1993 London Calypso Tent proved a great success and he inspired the youngsters who saw him on stage: He was like a little superstar. The children start running all over the place. And the following year we had three little juniors who got involved in calypso. Now [2006] we have about 30 or 40 juniors who are involved. We just finished our Junior Calypso Monarch competition and we have a wonderful little junior; she’s singing good and composing [Queen Latifah – Latifah Damali]. Tiger explained that unlike in the Caribbean, where children competing for the Junior Calypso Monarch competition usually buy a song from an established adult calypsonian, the ABC wanted the children to develop their own writing talents. So what we do with the children, we take them, we have people like Alex- ander D Great and we have Talibah; we have Admiral Jack who does a lot of workshops. And we take these children and we work with them and create their own calypso – make them write their own calypso. Over the two decades that it ran, the Junior Calypso Monarch competition and a similar contest for Black History Month developed some good performers. The first Junior Monarch was Lady Puni, who won the Al Hector Trophy in 1993. Other names on the Junior roll of honour include Yaa Princess (Halima Bryan), King Samuel, Oba the King (Oba Shabaka Thompson), Kiki B (Kianna Smith) and VeeVee (Viquichele Cross-Glasgow). Unsurprisingly, perhaps, many were the children of singers or people otherwise involved in the tent. The UK Junior Calypso Monarch competition was the brainchild of Al Hec- tor’s widow, Angela Hector-Watkins, who acted as the event’s co-ordinator in the early years. Later on, it was Talibah Hawkins who was to play the vital role of bringing on the juniors. The exchange programme organised with the backing of the government of Trinidad & Tobago brought T&T Junior Monarch winners and runners-up to the tent. Their confidence, intelligence, polished stage performances and open- hearted encouragement of the British youngsters were hugely impressive. After Kerwin – who was later to compete as an adult ABC member – there followed Kizzie Ruiz, Karene Asche (both several times), Heather MacIntosh, Devon Seale, Amrika Muttoo, Sophia Scipio, Michelle Henry, Patrice Roberts, Olatunji Yearwood, Dariem Charles, Tenisha Weekes, Megan Walrond and the Hazell

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sisters – Shenilee, Sheynenne and Shalleika. Several of these youngsters have become internationally celebrated artistes and competition winners. The imaginative programme eventually ran out of funding and for the past few years the scheme has been in abeyance, but it is very much a part of ACUK’s plans to revive the Junior Calypso Monarch contest in the near future.

Cloak’s decade In 1994, London’s calypso-lovers were spoilt for choice, as on Sunday nights Dougie’s Intermezzo hosted Crusoe’s Kaiso House, “featuring the best Calyp- sonians in the land”, according to the flyer. They were Tobago Crusoe (Ortneil Bacchus), De Alberto (Winston Albert), Lucky, Caibo, Astronaut, Remy, Helena B (Helena Bedeau) and Skunky (Odian Cyrus). It seems the experiment was not repeated. Over at Yaa, that year’s Calypso Monarch contest saw Tiger as runner-up to Cloak, Golden Cockerel was third and the Prodigal Son (renowned steelpan tuner and performer/arranger Michael ‘Bubbles’ Olivierre) became King of the Tent. Perhaps the most significant development was the arrival of two female calypsonians on the Yaa stage: Sister Sandra (community worker Sandra Alexander) and Totally Talibah (Jamaican-born actress Talibah Hawkins). It must have seemed like a good idea at the time, but holding the 1995 Calypso Monarch finals alongside the Grand Costume Gala in the vast echoing exhibition halls of Olympia proved to be a serious acoustic mistake. This was a day when mas took centre stage and few people seemed to notice the calypsonians or were able to hear them. Once again, Lord Cloak was proclaimed the Calypso Monarch, with Tiger runner-up and Explorer in third place. When Totally Talibah became the first female ‘King’ of the Tent that part of the competition promptly had to be renamed! This was the year that Calypso Tent audiences were able to enjoy performances by a remarkable number of visiting artistes from the Caribbean, including David Rudder and Charlie’s Roots, Black Stalin, Ronnie Mackintosh, Pelham Goddard and the band Massive Chandelier. The presence of such high-profile stars – many of them through Tiger’s personal connections – helped put the ABC tent on the map. By its fifth year the London Calypso Tent had become an established part of the Notting Hill Carnival season. The Yaa Asantewaa Centre – which was also the base for the successful Yaa Asantewaa Mas Band – became part of London’s liming circuit. On August Friday nights it was the place to meet and exchange news, or just sit back with a drink and enjoy the music and picong. There was plenty of time for that, as scheduling was, shall we say, ‘relaxed’ – shows might begin an hour or more after the ofcial start and often ended after midnight. On finals night, the place was packed to overflowing, with scarcely space to stand, let alone sit, and on warm evenings it developed its own sultry, steamy microcli- mate. The tent at Yaa had character, and plenty of characters.

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The touring aspect of the ABC’s activities gathered pace through the mid- 90s, and the calypsonians found themselves in demand around London and beyond. In 1997, for example, they were booked to appear at carnivals in Read- ing, Plymouth and Huddersfield, and a recent addition to ABC’s ranks, Alex- ander D Great (Alexander Loewenthal) and his Great Band, accompanied Yaa Asantewaa Mas Band on the road at Notting Hill Carnival. In another sign that the artform was beginning to attract wider notice, the BBC’s ‘Pebble Mill’ television programme interviewed several of the calypsonians. After wearing the crown for seven years straight, Lord Cloak found himself going home bare-headed in 1998, when Mighty Tiger won with ‘One of these Days Africa’ and ‘Crime Don’t Pay’. It was a controversial result – many in the audience were tipping Sister Sandra, who finished second (‘Drug-taking is Mad- ness’ and ‘Wet, Wet, Wet in the Fete’). Alexander D Great reached third with ‘They Came upon the Windrush’, and ‘My Mother’s Love’ brought fourth for a disappointed Cloak. As if that wasn’t drama enough, Tiger then announced he was retiring from competition, more than two decades after he won his first UK title. However, it certainly didn’t mean his performing career was at an end, and he continued to delight tent audiences with some of his most popular numbers well into the following decade. It also left him more time to devote to his role as President for Life of the ABC, vigorously promoting the association and the tent. In this he was assisted over the years by, among others, Shabaka Thompson, Wendy Cutler, Merle Blondell, Dawn Forde and Tiger’s niece Nicole-Rachelle Moore. On their own, the calypsonians might well have struggled to gain and sustain such popularity for the London Calypso Tent. Making the critical diference is the eight-piece ABC Band, long under the leadership of Derek Homer (son of Len, of Homer’s Odyssey) and now led by Shawn Caribbean (Shawn Marcellin). The Tent’s other great assets are the backing singers – though that title hardly does their talents justice – originally known as the Soca Inspirations and more recently as the (Soca) Divettes, comprising Michelle Cross-Glasgow, Car- lene McLean and Geraldine Reid. Each year, tent audiences pay for their tickets confident of hearing a strong, tight band that can really raise the roof when called for and the voices of the Divettes, who can enhance any melody in any genre. Audiences, calypsonians and guest artistes alike have been unanimous in their praise for band and vocalists, and certainly the tent owes a lot to these musical, but often unsung, heroes and heroines. Also worth mentioning here are the MCs. Some have been DJs, such as Mar- tin Jay and Soca Professor, others have been calypsonians, including Admiral Jack, Giselle (Carter), Mr International (Jefrey Simon), Rev B (Berthe Browne) and Tobago Crusoe. In 2006, Donald Chambers, of the T&T High Commission, took the role, but the doyen of tent MCs has been mischievous storyteller and psychotherapist Coco P (Davis Deen).

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By 1998, the ABC was conﬁdent enough of the quality of its calypso output to release its ﬁrst CD compilation. Entitled Nottinghill We Comming [sic], produced by Kenny Phillips and mixed at KMP in Trinidad, it featured many of the songs that rocked the tent the previous year, from Tiger’s ‘Kilkardy Woman’ and Rev Sweetfoot’s ‘Freedom’ to Sister Sandra’s pleasing ‘In dis Carnival’ and the stirring ‘Panorama Attack’ by Alexander D Great. (The latter track was produced by Lion Valley Records.) It also included songs by guest artistes Kizzie Ruiz, Karene Asche and Melanie ‘Clear de Way’ Hudson. The innovation was well-received and in 1999 a second CD was released, Born in Britain, which this time featured two of the young calypsonians, Sweet Combination and Yaa Princess. In subsequent years, ABC issued further compilation CDs such as Anniversary, Celebra- tion and ABC Journeys On. Individual calypsonians and the Divettes have also released their own music on vinyl, tape and CD. A full discography of UK calypso is long overdue. The music was being heard on the road at Notting Hill Carnival too, as in 1998 and 1999 Yaa Asantewaa Mas Band played Sister Sandra’s songs and in 1999 Nostalgia, Eclipse and Mangrove steelbands played some of Tiger’s music. Less positively, the Junior Calypso Monarch competition had to be cancelled after it failed to receive funding from the temporarily cash-strapped Notting Hill Carnival Trust (NHCT – the organisers had undergone yet another name change!). Relations became somewhat strained over the Trust’s refusal to back ABC’s ‘No Calypso, No Carnival’ initiative, which sought to get UK calypso played by more mas and steel bands on the road and to have a proper UK Road March competition to judge the most popular music played by the mas bands’ DJs at Notting Hill. Despite this, the records show that the Trust slightly increased its funding awards to individual calypsonians, with 1998 Monarch Mighty Tiger receiving a princely £1,230 in prize money. Protected by the ABC, the artistes were no longer at the mercy of scampish rip-of merchants. Since then, funding cuts mean that the Monarch’s prize is less today than Tiger received nearly 20 years ago. From 1999, the ABC extended its touring itinerary to include the popular Hackney Mare de Gras carnival, in addition to its usual visits to Reading – where Admiral Jack opened his own calypso tent in 2000 – and Leicester. The Hack- ney show took place at Chat’s Palace.

Calypso enters the new millennium After seven years, the ABC’s ﬁrst visiting T&T Junior Calypso Monarch, Kerwin Du Bois, returned to the tent in 2000 as a fully ﬂedged adult ABC member. The T&T Junior that year was the elegant Karene Asche, singing a moving number about absent fathers, ‘It Leaves Me Wondering’. For Karene this was also a return to the Yaa stage, for she had shown she could hold the tent audience spellbound at the tender age of 13 with ‘Since You’ve Been Gone’ in 1998.

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Things were shaping up for a strong ﬁnals showdown except that the Car- nival Trust decided to hold it at the Tabernacle, in Powis Square, on the same evening that the ABC held its popular Last Night of the Tent at the Yaa. The fact that both venues were packed to capacity proved that demand for calypso was strong; this was certainly not “old people music” as some people were still claiming. Against strong competition – including SW Storm (Sina-Wayne Maraj) with ‘Thank You T&T’ and Skunky singing ‘The Shadows of Apartheid’ – Kerwin took the crown with ‘Ever Changing Times’. Over at the Yaa, the ABC faithful called Lord Cloak back to the stage for two encores of ‘Cloak Again’ and Read- ing-based newcomer David Brewster brought some energetic soca-style action with ‘Jump Around’. Two shows on the same night may have frustrated audiences, but they proved the artform was in good shape, as new performers and new approaches to the music took us into the new millennium. The tent went on the road at Notting Hill with Tiger’s stirring song ‘Yaa Asantewaa’, yet again tried but failed to get a Road March competition introduced, visited Birmingham Carnival and Hackney Mare de Gras, released another CD, and introduced a short-lived ‘Calypso in Schools’ programme of workshops with UK and Trinidadian calypsonians. The following year, newcomer Wen’D (Wendy Lewis) showed her mettle by capturing the judges’ attention with ‘Immigrants’ Dilemma’ and ‘Mother Africa’, penned by Tobago Crusoe, in 2001. That meant that Sister Sandra had to settle yet again for second place for her rendition of the attractive Alexander D Great composition ‘Black on Black’. Although some of the veterans, such as Astronaut, Golden Cockerel, Lucky and Caibo had retired from competition, several new ABC members were entertaining the tent audience – D Jamma, a talented steelpan player from Birmingham, Iguana, Tulu and Sheldon Skeete. The tent of 2002 took place in an atmosphere of upheaval and uncertainty, as a few months earlier Claire Holder had been ousted from her position as head of the Notting Hill Carnival Trust amid swirling rumours of plots, counter-plots and nepotism. A sort of internecine war broke out between various factions, and some believed that London Mayor Ken Livingstone was planning to take over Carnival and move it into Hyde Park. Bacchanal fuh so! In these inauspicious circumstances the ABC managed to put on another good season, the highlight of which was a ﬁnals night in the awe-inspiring surroundings of the Royal Opera House – about as far removed from the Yaa ambi- ence as it was possible to get. The gilded formality of the venue meant the show lacked its usual irreverence and intimacy, but it felt like an achievement to see the music given such respect. Lord Cloak showed that a change of venue made no diference to his winning ways, however. Then it was back to the Yaa for the Last Night of the Tent, to hear the ABC regulars plus guest artistes Black Stalin (Leroy Calliste), Kizzie Ruiz (on her fourth visit) and Patrice Roberts, plus, for that night only and to the crowd’s delight, soca superstar Machel Montano.

18 THE LONDON CALYPSO TENT

Woman take over! Heading the bill in 2003 was the irrepressible Soca Elvis (Michael Salloum), whose larger-than-life showmanship deserved a bigger stage than the Yaa could ofer; ofstage, though, he was disarmingly modest and unassuming. Rub- ber-limbed Olatunji Yearwood and Karene Asche were the season’s represent- atives of T&T’s young talent. An exciting innovation was Junior Calypso Picnic in the Park on Carnival Saturday. Aimed at children aged 6–16, the free event included calypso workshops, storytelling and a performance from the children at the end of the afternoon. Joining the ABC’s cast were Deloris Francis and Music Man (Michael Nanton), but in terms of results it proved to be Sister Sandra’s year: after being pipped to the post several times, she took a long-awaited and well-deserved first for ‘Sau- tay’ and ‘How to Keep a Woman’. However, in terms of winning calypso honours Sandra had to defer to her daughter, as Celestial Star had taken the UK Junior Monarch title two years earlier. The ten-year-old’s win was a sign of things to come, as, Cloak’s victory apart, women were to dominate the competition for the first decade of the 21st century. Soca Elvis was back, with a mini-me sidekick, Cyclops, in 2004, but the big draw from T&T that year was Explainer (Winston Henry) singing the glorious ‘Lorraine’ – guaranteed to induce homesickness in any true-blooded Trini at Carnival time! The calypso youngsters were represented by Sheynenne Hazell from Trinidad and Latifah (Damali) from the UK, and the top three places in the Calypso Monarch contest were all female too: Wen’D (‘My Kind ah Man’), Sister Sandra and Oxford-based rising star Brown Sugar. Another new arrival on the Yaa stage was the glamorous Cleopatra (Cleo Guiste). A special celebration was held during Black History Month in October 2005 to commemorate Mighty Tiger’s ‘Fifty Years in Calypso’. Sharing the bill with the ABC President for Life were veteran calypsonians Black Stalin, Composer and Valentino. Tiger, along with Cloak, Explorer and Peace & Love, by now represented the UK’s ‘Old Brigade’. Meanwhile, the ABC’s ‘Young Brigade’ was growing with the arrival of, among others, Helena B (Helena Bedeau) – who secured the 2005 calypso crown – and G-String (Gerry Archer). The latter lived up to his name by throwing into the delighted crowd some genuine underwear! It was all good fun at the more bacchanalian end of calypso, but he was soon to prove himself a consummate social commentary calypsonian. As for the Youth Exchange Programme, it was the turn of yet another talented Hazell sister, Shal- leika, to visit the London Calypso Tent, while King Oba became the first Black History Month Junior Monarch. The Tent audience in 2006 was treated to some ‘Thunder’ (the 1987 Road March winner) from the Mighty Duke. Tiger had this to say of Duke: He was one of the people who worked with me in my early, early days, still singing good – the only man to win the Calypso Monarch four times

19 THE LONDON CALYPSO TENT

[in a row] in Trinidad and Tobago. I doubt that will be surpassed over the next 200 years. The year’s visiting T&T Junior Calypso Monarch was 15-year-old Dariem Charles, singing ‘Dem Blimping Ting’ about a police surveillance balloon. How- ever, the ﬁnals night belonged to Brown Sugar whose ‘Free yuh Mind’ was the judges’ choice. Lord Cloak, though, caught discontent in a section of the community with ‘Since Claire Gone’, suggesting that after the departure of “Madame Holder” (as Tiger called her), Notting Hill Carnival was being “run by ﬂy-by-nights”. After the tent closed its doors, there was a chance for audiences to hear more at the World Music Stage in Powis Square over the two days of Carnival. Then attention moved to Ocean Music Centre in Mare Street, Hackney, on 15 September for a calypso showcase dubbed Clash of the Titans. The Black His- tory Month shows also ofered fans another bite at the calypso cherry.

The Tent moves to a new stage The London Calypso Tent was the Yaa’s most popular event, but rapidly becoming a victim of its own success, as the risk of overcrowding meant large numbers of would-be patrons had to be turned away each week. A larger venue was clearly needed, but with property prices in London rising, it seemed like an impossible aspiration. But then there came a chance to bid for the Tabernacle, which had been at the centre of so many Carnival-related activities over the past four decades. Yaa Asantewaa’s 2005–2006 report set out this grand project, called Car- nival Village. Could it succeed and create a centre – or rather two centres – for Black artists and provide a home for steelbands, a mas band and the ABC? The track record had hardly been good; painful memories of the Roundhouse débâcle in Camden made many people sceptical. Yet in a little over two years the dream had become a reality, thanks to a £4.2 million grant from Arts Council of England, but also to the eforts of Yaa’s director Shabaka Thompson, general manager Everton Counsell, project manager David Elford and the rest of the team in Chippenham Mews. The ABC started its 2007 season in expectant mood, though tinged with the anxieties that naturally come with any major change. Brown Boy (Knolly Brown – brother of Errol Brown, Lord Cloak) was the featured artiste from Trinidad. It was another Brown (Sugar) who took the UK crown on 23 August, gaining her second calypso victory in as many years with ‘Send dem to Jail’ (following on from her victory in AJ’s Calypso Tent in Reading). London Tent regulars had already hailed another winner the previous week, however. Giselle Carter, singing ‘When Will I See You Again?’, won the newly introduced Groovy Soca Monarch contest, which ofered calypsonians more scope to let loose at the party end of the spectrum. It has proved a popular part of the tent season, but a lack of promotion meant it took some time before its

20 THE LONDON CALYPSO TENT

The crowd at the Calypso Monarch semi-final at the old Yaa in 2005 existence and purpose became widely known. Meanwhile, 10-year-old Tenisha Weekes made her school bag the subject of the calypso that won her the 2007 T&T Junior crown. As usual, the calypso year largely wound down at the end of October. A Black History Month event, Calypso fuh So, compered by Mr International and featuring Karene Asche as well as most of the ABC members, preceded the BHM Junior showcase on 27 October. Karene was back once again in August 2008, but this year she had a much more impressive stage on which to display her talents: the Tabernacle was open for business as the London Calypso Tent’s new home. It took a while for audiences to get used to their new surroundings. While the raked seating, excel- lent lighting and downstairs bar and seating area were a world away from the rather rudimentary facilities at 1 Chippenham Mews, some tent stalwarts felt that it lacked Yaa’s atmosphere and was altogether too formal for the rough and tum- ble of a calypso tent. Over the years, though, as the calypso vibe seeped into the place, the calls of “kaiso, kaiso” grew louder and it began to feel like home. Megan Walrond was the resident T&T Junior for the five weeks of the tent, but the competitive focus was on ABC’s female stars. Here Brown Sugar and Giselle swapped around their crowns: 2007’s Groovy Soca Monarch took the Calypso Monarch finals and 2007 Calypso Queen Brown Sugar brought home the Groovy Soca trophy. And to complete the ABC’s female hat-trick, in October

21 THE LONDON CALYPSO TENT

Wen’D won Best Female Soca Artiste and Best UK Calypso Artiste in the Soca News-sponsored Soca Music Awards. Megan was back the following year with a song about domestic violence, ‘You Name Woman’. The adult guest artistes continued to appear too, and for 2009 it was the ever-stylish Poser (Sylvester Lockhart, from Sangre Grande), who brought the show to a close with favourites like ‘Bus Conductor’ and his 1979 Road March winner ‘Ah Tell She’. Over the past few years tent-goers had been introduced to several new members, including Clivus (Clive Lewis), Dansa (William O’Garro), Dave B (Dave Batson), Redman (Neil Cave-Dick), Rondell Donawa and Soca Princess (Saman- tha Combie), all singing alongside such veterans as Lord Cloak and the inimitable Peace & Love – a tent favourite with his natty shoes, tortuous lyrics, nifty dance moves and vibrantly hued woolly hats. But it was Akima Paul who was to make the biggest impression in 2009. Her song about immigration and deceit, ‘Passport Love’, wowed the crowd and impressed the judges sufciently to give her the edge over Brown Sugar (second) and Giselle (third). Audiences had to regret that Akima’s time at the tent was cut short by the demands of her studies and subsequent professional career as a top corporate lawyer. Akima also won the following year’s Extempo Monarch contest, and the 2010 Calypso Monarch honours were awarded to that rare creature on the podium – a man! Alexander D Great’s ‘Haiti’ was a touching lament for that sorely trou- bled nation. Both the Groovy Soca Monarch and Junior Calypso Monarch titles were in female hands – Cleopatra (‘Doh Talk de Talk’) and Kiki B (‘Image is not Everything’) respectively. The next crop of new faces included Fakekou (Sterling Callender) and the striking Nikisha (Nikisha Reyes-Pile), but this was to be the last year we were to see Explorer, who retired, and Peace & Love, who passed away. Guest for the season was Redman (Michael Thomas) from Canada. Born in Grenada, he started out as a reggae singer in 1984 and made his ﬁrst foray into calypso four years later before moving to Toronto in 1989. He was joined by Trinidad Rio, whose ‘Big Word Man’ was a compilation of long latinate words that harked back to a style popular in the ‘golden age’ of calypso in Trinidad. It was in 2010, too, that the stage was given over for the ﬁrst time to the Soca Divettes, to sing ‘Soul Fire’ – another composition from the versatile Alexander Loewenthal. Along with almost all of the ABC calypsonians, the Divettes were back in action during Black History Month. Winner of the Junior BHM contest was VeeVee (Viquichele Cross-Glasgow, daughter of Divettes singer Michelle Cross-Glasgow).

Calypso rising As had become traditional, the ABC band opened the tent each evening by playing a Mighty Tiger composition. In 2011 it was ‘Maudlin’, which had supplanted

22 THE LONDON CALYPSO TENT

the stirring ‘Yaa Asantewaa’ – a tune that surely was sufused in the very fabric of the old ‘Factory’. By now, Tiger had moved away from London and was sufering some health problems, but continued to keep a firm hand on the ABC and still performed at the Tent, singing ‘Dinner for One’ in his inimitable style. Rev B (Berthe Browne) has never shied away from strong, committed social-commentary calypsos and his 2011 entry, ‘Foreigners’, brought him third place. Helena B used her smokey-toned voice to good efect in ‘Con Dem’, which took her to runner-up position. However, the judges’ verdict went in favour of Alexander D Great for ‘Pan Woman on Trial’, which made imaginative use of the pan-playing talents of his song-writing collaborator Debra Romain. Over the course of the Tent, UK Junior Calypso Monarch VeeVee sang three of her calypsos, ‘My Rem- edy’, ‘What I Want’ and ‘World TLC’. She came second in the 2011 contest and it was Little L (La Toya Fe Browne) whose name was engraved on the Junior Calypso Monarch trophy for her song ‘In 2012’. Sadly, in 2012 and subsequently there was to be no Junior competition. ‘Kaiso Alive’ was the highly appropriate title of the song performed by T&T Junior Calypso Monarch Aaron Duncan. Following him on stage, the next singer had carved her own name on the Junior trophy in the past but now was an accomplished adult calypsonian and certainly no stranger to the London Calypso Tent – Karene Asche, with ‘Be Careful’ and ‘Uncle Jack’. And for the first time, but not the last, came Tobago-born but Toronto-based Macomere Fifi (Eulith Tara Woods), singing the touching ‘Mother and Daughter’. Like her fellow Tobagonian, Calypso Rose, Macomere Fifi has been awarded numerous calypso honours and has a warmth and sincerity on stage that connects with her audiences wherever she sings. Once again, Black History Month was the ideal time to bring calypso to a dif- ferent audience. On 28 October, the Tabernacle hosted ABC Queens in Concert – Brown Sugar, Cleopatra, Giselle and Helena B, supported by the Divettes, the ABC Band, Mighty Tiger and Alexander D Great. The following day Alexander was back for the ABC Annual Lecture Series, accompanying administrator Nicole Rachelle Moore, who spoke on ‘Calypso, Collaboration and Solidarity’. Former Alaskan judge, masquerader and prodigious carnival chronicler Ray Funk spoke with typical enthusiasm and erudition on ‘Lord Melody – Calypso Superstar’. By 2012, it was clear to audiences at the Tabernacle that the London Calypso Tent was going from strength to strength, as exciting new, young performers were proving that the artform was both increasingly sophisticated and relevant. The clouds seemed to be gathering, however, as Notting Hill Carnival’s organisers struggled to find support; funding for the ABC began to dry up. Despite the extraordinary cultural value of the Youth Exchange Programme, the Junior Calypso Monarch and Black History Month Junior Monarch contests, the schools programme and calypso workshops, it became harder and harder to sustain the full range of activities. Something had to give.

23 THE LONDON CALYPSO TENT

So sadly the junior competitions and visits ended. It must have been particularly galling to Mighty Tiger, who had worked so hard to sow the seeds of calypso creativity in British youngsters. Those who love the music must hope that the break is only a temporary one. Meanwhile, dedicated calypsonians such as Alexander D Great continue to hold inspiring calypso workshops at schools, community groups and even museums. Singing Francine was a T&T guest artiste at the very first London Calypso Tent in 1992, so it was interesting that 20 years later the Groovy Soca winner named Francine as a musical influence. Cleopatra captured the crown with ‘Feelings’, beating Nikisha’s ‘Regrettable Generosity’ and Helena B’s ‘Soca in mih Head’. Six days later the ABC had a new Calypso Monarch to applaud, as one of the rising stars of the Tent, Sheldon Skeete, gained the crown for ‘A Sightless Nation’. The quality of his songwriting led Soca News to dub this RAF aircraft engineer the London Lyrics Man, and the Tabernacle crowd sensed that the competition was getting fiercer every year. So it proved, even though the 2013 season was cut back to just four nights at the Tent. With ‘Closer to Me’, Nikisha finally got the victory she had been seeking in the Groovy Soca Monarch competition, and, yes, it was Sheldon Skeete who united audience and judges in approval for ‘Send Dem Afghanistan’ – surely one of the most powerful and heartfelt calypsos to have been presented in the London Tent’s 25-year history. That’s not to say the competition was slack. Far from it: from the impeccable timing of veteran audience-pleaser Lord Cloak, with ‘Money Tree’, to the confidence and glamour of second-placed Nikisha sending out a strong message in ‘The Power is Yours’, the sheer variety of music being presented on stage showed that the old jibes about calypsonians being stuck in a time-warp had long exceeded their shelf-life. For those whose tastes were more on the retro side, there was still Mighty Tiger to give us ‘Yaa Asantewaa’ on the Last Night. In addition to Macomere Fifi, the Tabernacle also enjoyed the rich voice and imposing presence of King Socrates from St Kitts, a true gentleman of calypso. The bar had been raised, but could the standard be maintained? Given the challenges, doubts were only reasonable, but the worries were groundless. It was still a short season, but it proved just as memorable. The big surprise came on 15 August, when for the first time there was a tie for first place in the Groovy Soca contest. Could a crown sit on two heads at once? For Sheldon Skeete, who’d given us ‘The Groovy Song’, it seemed possible; Nikisha (‘Body Groove’) didn’t look so sure! Watching from the gallery was someone accustomed to both crowns and controversy: the Mighty Sparrow himself, Calypso King of the World. It was a thrilling moment. The following day Sparrow gave a memorable performance at the Tabernacle, proving that, indeed, “Age is Just a Number”. Not according to Cloak, though: “Some people don’t want to see an old man fuh king”, he cheekily complained in best double entendre style. For Santiago

24 THE LONDON CALYPSO TENT

the problem was ‘De Vice’ – namely our obsession with mobile gadgetry. But once more (and with feeling) it was Sheldon who had the edge over his rivals with ‘Voices’, about politicians’ empty promises. So that was a 2014 double (Calypso plus Groovy) and a hat-trick of Calypso crowns. In fact it was so very nearly a tie in the Calypso contest too, as Nikisha was just three points away from Sheldon with her high-gloss performance of ‘Life is Worth more than Money’. And 2015 made it four for Sheldon. ‘How to Capture the Monarchy’ was textbook calypso that invoked the spirits of Black Stalin, Mighty Chalkdust and the Shadow. What could possibly go wrong? Well, nothing, as it happened: his monarchy was safe for another year. But someone with his eye on the throne was clearly ready to scale the castle walls. G-String’s ‘Spoils of War’ hit the bullseye for social commentary: the kidnapping by Boko Haram of Nige- rian schoolgirls. The lanky calypsonian’s restlessness and intensity on stage emphasised the distressing nature of the subject matter. From De Admiral’s ‘Deh Making a Killing’ attacking injustices such as zero-hours contracts, to Alexander’s ‘Diferencism’ about migration, the calypsonians were taking their role of griot seriously. More humour, but sharp observation too, came to us in the well-conceived Groovy Soca Monarch-winning number from Santiago, ‘Island’s Too Small’. There was a truly international feel to the end of Calypso Finals Night, as first King Socrates from St Kitts, then honey-voiced De Hunter of Dominica, Shirlane Hendrickson of Trinidad and finally Macomere Fifi from Canada by way of Tobago came on stage. No one could accuse the ABC of having a narrow Londonist view of calypso! A year later Shirlane was back demonstrating the proper use of root veg- etables and introduced her sister, Lady Wonder, and her father, the veteran but still energetic All Rounder. Impulse and Sekon Sta also made brief appearances, but the attention was really on the battles developing in the UK Groovy Soca and Calypso contests. And once again, there was indeed another first: the double act of Sunshine and Nadiva, previously known as Musik Lil Musik (Samantha and Nadine Bryant), whose progress to Groovy Soca stardom was simply ‘Unstoppable’. The nature of his job sadly meant Sheldon was unable to defend his title, but G-String seemed confident the highly topical ‘Referendum’ would meet with his constituency’s approval. Should he leave or should he stay? “I’m here representing the Calypso Party,” he sang, and judges and audience were happy to vote for that. The fact that Santiago’s witty and clever ‘Stuttering Town’ only came third proved how fierce the competition had become, and in many a previous year second-placed Brown Sugar would surely have soared efortlessly on to the podium with her passionately delivered ‘Black Man’. More talent was on the way too: 15-year-old McKenzie Hart created shock- waves of delight when she sang ‘Thank You’. The calypso’s title might almost

25 THE LONDON CALYPSO TENT

have been directed at Association President Mighty Tiger, who after a long absence was back where he belonged, in the front row and clearly delighted to see the calypso baton being taken up by the next generation. There was a special poignancy in seeing him present the prizes. It seemed ﬁtting, too, that Carnival Village supremo Shabaka Thompson was present as well, given the role that both men had played in setting this unique institution on the right road.

Golden moments in a silver jubilee The Tent’s silver jubilee year started on a sombre note when news came of the passing of the Mighty Tiger. It seemed scarcely conceivable that we would no longer see the man who had put such a distinctive stamp on the association. The organisation had by this time changed its name, from the Association of Brit- ish Calypsonians (ABC) to the Association of Calypsonians UK (ACUK), belatedly reflecting the fact that membership was not restricted to ‘British’ calypsonians. Another shock came when London learned of the terrible fire at Grenfell Tower on 14 June. Aside from the immediate victims and their families, the tragedy deeply afected the whole community, particularly the community involved in Notting Hill Carnival, the Tabernacle and the London Calypso Tent. The fire happened in a big city where for so long we had been told that people were rootless, even uncaring, ‘citizens of the world’. The minute’s silence with which each night’s tent began – and later on the road at Carnival itself – proved the opposite: this is a community with deep roots and close ties, and people care very much. Nothing demonstrated that fact more clearly than Alexander D Great’s sensi- tive response to the disaster. Naturally, it was in the form of a calypso. ‘Forever You’ll be Blest’ was written on the day of the fire as the scarcely believable news rolled through on the television. It was sung on the opening night of the Tent and at several Grenfell commemorative events, showing that there is still a place for the urban griot in the digital age. If the judges had a challenging time choosing a winner from such a strong field in 2016, their task was no easier this year and once again they had the hard- est seats in the Tabernacle. From the packed opening night on 4 August 2017 to the Last Night and People’s Choice (King and Queen of the Tent) on 25 August, the standard remained consistently high. Newcomers to the Tabernacle stage in 2017 were the undeniably energetic Soca Kidd (Brian Richmond) and the engaging Mufnman (André Rostant), whose call for ‘Soca Resistance’ caught the mood of the crowd – perhaps of some increasingly restive carnivalists too. The two original members of the Tent still competing showed they certainly weren’t done yet: De Admiral gave us the nicely balanced ‘Our Father’s Dey’, while Lord Cloak was on top form with ‘Where Were You?’, which took us back to the struggles of immigrants in the 50s and 60s. Debra Romain on steelpan

26 THE LONDON CALYPSO TENT

accompanied Alexander D Great for ‘Unsung Heroes’, a song that for once honoured people happily still alive – and some of them were sitting in the audience. Another Alexander composition, ‘Immigration’ was delivered by Helena B, while in ‘Stop the Killing’, Rev B brought his preacher’s oratory down on those who condone the slaughter of innocents. Many expected G-String to retain his crown, as his ‘High Blood Pressure’ suc- cessfully injected exasperated humour into serious subject matter. However, it was Brown Sugar’s combination of superb voice, witty and forceful presentation, and strong lyrics for ‘Equal Opportunities’ that, in the judges’ view, had the edge. Once again, the evening was rounded of by the Hendricksons, whose polished, if irreverent, performance, fine voices and audience interaction demonstrated why they have remained successful for so long. Just one point prevented the Unstoppable sisters, Sunshine and Nadiva, from doubling up in the Groovy Soca contest too, with ‘Take It’, so they had to settle for an honourable second. Instead, it was Santiago who took home the bottle of rum and prepared to fete all night. His ‘Feteing Fathers’ celebrated new dads’ thoroughly disgraceful behaviour with wicked subversion of nursery rhymes. The ingenious concept showed him to be one of the most imaginative calypsonians in the Tent. Although the Tent season ends on the Friday before Carnival, there is a kind of Indian Summer in October, and 2017 was no exception. On Saturday 7 October calypso-lovers were able to listen to some of the female stars – Giselle, Brown Sugar, Helena B and the Divettes – in the downstairs bar of The Tabernacle. This was one of the dates for the Kaiso Lime, which takes place on the first Saturday of each month from spring through to autumn. As well as being popular with aficiona- dos, it also introduces calypso to people who may never have heard it before. And that, after all, is essential if the music is to continue to survive and thrive. And so another London Calypso Tent closed; long live the London Calypso Tent!

27 A tribute to Tiger

t all began when a little dog in the park began to bark that a 15-year-old schoolboy made up a rhyme and created a calypso. He was hardly to know that this fleeting incident would define the major part of his life. I Ashton Moore gained his Christian name from being born on Ash Wednes- day, 7 February 1940, in Tableland, Trinidad. His parents were Simeon Moore and Ethel Maurain, and after his mother died Ashton lived with his father and step-mother in Fyzabad. He started out singing softer, sentimental songs, but of course calypso was the popular music in Trinidad so he switched to that. His first stroke of luck was being spotted by the Mighty Duke (Kelvin Pope, 1932–2009), who felt that Ashton had a good voice. Before long local calypsonians such as Ambassador and Injector were encouraging him to sing with the Southern Brigade. Moore had already acquired his soubriquet, as he explained: “I was much younger then, and slim and really moving – they [his friends] say ‘Eh, yuh look like a tiger’.” At that time there was already a Tiger in the calypso arena – Growl- ing Tiger (Neville Marcano, 1916–1993) – so Moore became Young Tiger. Families often disapproved of calypsonians, as they had a rafsh reputation, but luckily Mr Moore Senior didn’t mind: When I was small, very small, he had recordings of the Roaring Lion [Rafael de Leon, 1908–1999] and the Iron Duke [Julian Whiterose] and all these fellows from long, long time ago. So he was a man who liked calypso. We used to have one of dem ole gramophones where you spin with a handle, with a big horn… In 1966, Young Tiger entered the Southern Brigade’s Monarch competition and came second to Lord Bitterbush (Victor Lewis) – “a wonderful singer he was”. The result encouraged him to try his luck in Port of Spain, and for the 1968 and 1969 seasons he sang with Lord Kitchener’s Calypso Revue, which the Grand- master had opened a few years before specifically to develop up-and-coming younger calypsonians. The next stop was Lord Blakie’s Victory Tent, on which Young Tiger sharpened his claws in the 1970 and 1971 seasons. His calypso heroes at the time included Lord Melody (Fitzroy Alexander, 1926–1988), Mighty Composer (Fred Mitchell), Mighty Power (Sonny Francois) and Mighty Sniper (Mervyn Hodge, c1936–1969), but “when it came to real singing calypso I feel you can’t beat the Mighty Sparrow”. For a while he worked in the sugar industry and then began distributing a new, rather racy newspaper called The Bomb, which launched in 1970.

28 A TRIBUTE TO TIGER

People liked it, because it was what we call in Trinidad bacchanal – people like bacchanal! I was in charge of distributing the ones for the south and people used to run me down to get these copies. It was a newspaper that prompted his next change of direction. A friend had spotted a recruitment advertisement for London Transport, seeking bus drivers and conductors, and Moore applied. On 1 April 1971, he reached London and shortly afterwards began work on the buses as a conductor. Naturally, he needed to find his feet in this unfamiliar city, but before long he was taking part in shows organised by Sonny Blacks and the Holder family alongside calypsonians such as Lucky and Lord Cloak. Being cheated by the smaller, fly-by-night promoters – even by the Notting Hill Carnival organisers – was an occupational hazard. Tiger remarked that it damaged the whole development of calypso in Britain in the 70s and 80s: They had people like Cloak and Lucky and one or two calypsonians who were trying to come up, but with that bad behaviour from promoters it was damping the whole prospect of calypsonians developing The response to that “bad behaviour” is told elsewhere in this book, but it doesn’t seem to have deterred Tiger himself unduly. In 1976, he is said to have been singing at a weekly Saturday night calypso tent at the Caribbean Club in Acton, west London, and won the first ofcial Calypso Monarch contest at Ham- mersmith Town Hall. In that year, too, he supported the Mighty Sparrow on one of his many tours to the UK, and two years later he was on the bill again for another Sparrow concert. As his reputation spread, he joined Len Homer’s band, Homer’s Odyssey, as lead singer. By 1983 he was being advertised as the Mighty Tiger, as befitted his more senior, monarchical status. As he observed: “In Trinidad I was the Young Tiger. But later on when you grow up you become Mighty!” Unlike most other music genres, calypso maintains a distinction between singers and singer-songwriters; it was something that Tiger was quite firm about: I’m what you’d call a true calypsonian. You’d have calypsonians and calypso singers. I write all my material. My performance I developed, at home of course, in front of a mirror, you have to move in front of a mirror. You have to acquire a sort of style… I acquired that in front of a mirror with a brush in meh hand and all that. The trials and tribulations sufered by Tiger and his fellow calypsonians led first to Al Hector’s short-lived European Association of Calypsonians and then to the much more stable and efective Association of British Calypsonians. Tiger was elected by his peers as ABC’s first and only president (the organisation is now ACUK), so, notwithstanding support from the committee, its development very much reflected Ashton Moore’s vision. Generally, that has worked to the Association’s advantage, but occasionally the firmness of his views created ten-

29 A TRIBUTE TO TIGER

sions – not least with the equally forceful character at the helm of Notting Hill Carnival, “Madame Holder” (as he called Carnival Trust CEO Claire Holder). Despite that, Tiger was at the heart of successive Notting Hill Carnival organ- isations. Along with static sound systems, soca sounds, steelpan and mas (costume), calypso is one of the five ‘disciplines’ or ‘arenas’ of Carnival. Each has its membership body equivalent to ABC/ACUK and each is represented on the Carnival board or committee. That, too, was a big driver in setting up the ABC in 1991, as Tiger explained in 2006: We went to a meeting in Notting Hill Carnival and the local calypsonians who were there, they wanted a representative on the board of Notting Hill Carnival. Actually, since that time I have been the longest-serving Notting Hill Carnival director. Although hampered to a degree by health problems in later life, Tiger was full of schemes to develop the Association and to raise calypso’s status further in Britain. In 2006 he was apparently working on a project called the World Calypso Company (WCC), which was to be set up in conjunction with Trinidad & Tobago’s much larger and more powerful equivalent of ABC/ACUK called TUCO (Trinbago Unified Calypsonians Organisation). ABC was to have been the arm of the WCC in Britain, but it seems not to have progressed further. His ambitions for Carnival Village knew few bounds either – recording studios and a radio station were two of his dreams. Not all those plans were, or are likely to be, realised, but there is no doubt at all that thanks to his eforts, enthusiasm and powers of persuasion (coercion, some might say!), Mighty Tiger left calypso in London in a much stronger position than ever seemed possible in the 1980s. Back then, it was being written of as yesterday’s music, something rooted in the past. The response of a full house at the Tabernacle to impressive performances from the British-based calypsonians skilfully blending humour with biting satire and fierce social commentary is testament enough to calypso’s enduring relevance and power. Ashton Moore won many awards over the years, but perhaps the most appropriate accolade is the full house at the Tabernacle on the Last Night of the Tent each year. As they said of St Paul’s Cathedral architect Sir Christopher Wren, “If you seek his memorial, look around you.”

30 A TRIBUTE TO TIGER

Ashton Sylvester Moore ‘Mighty Tiger’

7 FEB 1940 – 15 JAN 2017

31 Calypsonians in profile

Akima Paul

Akima Paul’s all-too-brief time on the London stage was crowned with success, as she won top honours in the Calypso Monarch contest in 2009 with ‘Pass- port Love’, which put into calypso form that familiar tale of a man’s afections having less to do with the woman herself than her passport. It was a strong subject, imaginatively conveyed – as you might expect from a multi-talented performer. At just 15 years old, Akima was honoured by the United Nations Environment Programme for her per- suasive advocacy. ‘Prostitute’ – described at the time as “a lyrical gem” – brought her the 2001 Grenada Soca Monarch crown and she then won the country’s top award for academic achievement, the National Island Scholarship. Akima came to the UK to study law and soon became a legal high-ﬂyer specialising in commercial litigation. And somehow she still ﬁnds time to write poetry…

32 CALYPSONIANS IN PROFILE

Alexander D Great ALEXANDER LOEWENTHAL

Born in Port of Spain, Trinidad, Alexander grew up in London from the age of ﬁve. On leaving school in the late 1960s he became a professional musician/songwriter. He spent a year in the USA playing with a 50-piece band. There he learned to arrange and orchestrate, after which he took a BA in Music at Dartington College, followed by a PGCE at Roehampton Institute. After 30 years spent playing a variety of music, including rock, soul and RnB, Alex returned to his calypso roots in the late 1980s. Ethnomusicologist Professor Tina K Ramnarine carried out a fairly substantial assessment of Alexander’s work in her 2007 study of the Caribbean diaspora, Beautiful Cosmos (Pluto Press). He has appeared on television and radio in Trinidad, Dominica and the UK. From February 2000 until July 2012 he was calypsonian-in-residence for the BBC and was UK Calypso Monarch in 2010 and 2011 with ‘Haiti’ and ‘Pan Woman on Trial’.

Alexander D Great ALEXANDER LOEWENTHAL

Born in Port of Spain, Trinidad, Alexander grew up in London from the age of ﬁve. On leaving school in the late 1960s he became a professional musician/ songwriter. He spent a year in the USA playing with a 50-piece band. There he learned to arrange and orchestrate, after which he took a BA in Music at Dartington College, followed by a PGCE at Roehampton Institute. After 30 years spent playing a variety of music, including rock, soul and RnB, Alex returned to his calypso roots in the late 1980s. Ethnomusicologist Professor Tina K Ramnarine carried out a fairly substantial assessment of Alexander’s work in her 2007 study of the Caribbean diaspora, Beautiful Cosmos (Pluto Press). He has appeared on television and radio in Trinidad, Dominica and the UK. From February 2000 until July 2012 he was calypsonian-in-residence for the BBC and was UK Calypso Monarch in 2010 and 2011 with ‘Haiti’ and ‘Pan Woman on Trial’.

33 CALYPSONIANS IN PROFILE

Brown Sugar BEVERLEY BROWNE

Brown Sugar is originally from Trinidad & Tobago but these days lives in Oxford. She has been involved in gospel singing from childhood, but branched out into calypso in her teens. She entered her ﬁrst calypso competition in 1995 when she was working at Central Bank of Trinidad & Tobago. Once in the UK, Brown Sugar started singing with AJ’s Calypso Tent in Read- ing in 2003. Since joining the ABC in 2004 she has secured UK Calypso Monarch honours three times – currently, she wears the 2017 calypso crown – and has twice won the UK Groovy Soca competition. She has shared the stage with the late Mighty Duke, Explainer and Pink Panther. Despite her powerful stage performances and magniﬁcent voice, we are told that Beverley Browne is very shy and does not dare sing in front of a crowd… but Brown Sugar will!

Caibo WINSTON ALEXIS

Caibo was singing calypso in the late 1980s, so he was one of the group that joined the ABC in time for its inaugural season. Initially, he registered his soubriquet as Mara-Caibo, but soon shortened it to Caibo. He appeared at the rival Crusoe’s Kaiso House in 1994, but seems not to have returned to the ABC Tent afterwards.

34 CALYPSONIANS IN PROFILE

Carlene ‘Sweet Wrists’ Etienne Carlene ‘Sweet Wrists’ Etienne is a proliﬁc musician, specialising in the playing of steelpan. Carlene is known for her double tenor pan performances, and she has demonstrated her vocal talents at the Groovy Soca Monarch competition in last couple of years. She delivers a variety of stunning, seductive jazz and soca in both disciplines. The singer-songwriter is a member of the Ebony Steelband and Women of Steel. Carlene has travelled the world performing steelpan music, taking part in major competitions both in the UK and abroad and is admired for her volunteering spirit.

Cleopatra CLEOPATRA ANN JOHNSON-HENDRICKSON, NÉE GUISTE

Cleo oozes sensuality with her versatile and skillful vocals and exciting stage performances. She is able to bend and shape any calypso song to her will. She started on stage with the ABC in 2002 and quickly became a popular and eagerly anticipated performer, winning the Groovy Soca Monarch contest in 2010 with ‘Doh Talk de Talk’ and again in 2012 with ‘Feelings’. She has performed with bands in the Caribbean, including Tropical Brass, Sound Revolution and Rup- tion, and cites her musical inﬂuences as Calypso Rose and Singing Francine. It was a shock when she left the UK to live abroad, but happily she returned to the London Calypso Tent in 2017 as one of ACUK’s overseas guest performers for the silver jubilee season.

35 CALYPSONIANS IN PROFILE

Clivus CLIVE LEWIS

Clivus joined the ABC London Calypso Tent in 1998 and hit the ground running. He was born in England, and it was on his ﬁrst visit to Anguilla that he gained an insight into the calypso artform. He was inspired by other Anguil- lan artistes such as Pulfero, Chinnicks, King Leo, Lucifer (Shermatt) and others from the Eastern Caribbean region, including Lord Short Shirt, King Swallow, King Socrates and Springer, who, he says, have contributed to his growth as a performer. He is proud to be the ﬁrst UK-based calypsonian to represent Anguilla in the Tent. Clivus states: “I hope to thrill the audiences of our Tent with my style of calypso and soca for years to come.”

Congoes MICHAEL FRIDAY

Congoes once said that the Caribbean is a place where “more people listen to calypso than listen to politicians”, although he gained his soubriquet from his skills as a percussionist. Back in the 80s he was known for mocking politicians with his hard-hitting lyrics and by the mid-1990s he was still on their case, with his song ‘War No More’. Other calypsos included ‘Sweet Pot’ and ‘Lady from Japan’, while his 2000 ofering for the Finals at the Tabernacle was ‘Respect the Pan’. More recently, Congoes has taken part in the monthly Kaiso Lime at the Tabernacle.

36 CALYPSONIANS IN PROFILE

Dansa WILLIAM O’GARRO

Dansa is the artistic director and co-founder of the Hibis- cus Dance Group, and performed for more than 50 years in many parts of the world before leaving Mont- serrat to reside in England. In addition to being a dancer, he is a choreographer, singer-songwriter, teacher, drummer, costume designer and bandleader. As part of his long-term involvement with the Claudia Jones Organi- sation in Hackney, Dansa has used his talents to introduce Afro-Caribbean folk dance to young people in Easter and summer holiday programmes as well as in various colleges and schools. Dansa joined the ABC London Calypso Tent in 2007 and has been an ardent participant, performing in the competition and on the World Music Stage at Powis Square over the Notting Hill Carnival weekend.

Dave B DAVE BATSON

Dave B started singing calypso in England in 1968, having been originally inspired by Nat King Cole and later the Mighty Sparrow. These inﬂuences resonate in the calypsos he has sung since joining the ABC in 2007. Before that, he had sung at Admiral Jack’s calypso tent in Reading from 2000. Dave B’s most popular calypsos are ‘Socaman’ and ‘Television Addicts’. He has performed in the UK and abroad, travelling as far as Dubai, singing not only calypso but also other genres of music.

37 CALYPSONIANS IN PROFILE

David Brewster

Barbados-born David first came to the attention of Lon- don Calypso Tent audiences in 2000, when he also appeared at the first calypso tent organised by Admiral in Reading. He started his music career as a drummer and then began writing and performing his own material. David was part of a new wave of performers who livened up the London Tent with a blast of energetic soca. Indeed, on one memorable occasion his energy overcame the limits of the old Yaa Centre’s facilities while singing ‘Jump Around’, and he leapt right of the stage into the audience! Undeterred, he continued to entertain tent-goers for a couple of seasons with lively party songs such as ‘It Making Me’ and ‘Treat Me So’. After a short gap, he returned to the Tent for one year only in 2009. As a commercial entertainer for events, he continues to keep the soca and steelpan flags flying.

De Admiral JEFFREY HINDS

De Admiral is a founder member and veteran of the ABC, having been one of those recruited to the cause by Mighty Astronaut back in 1991. ‘Play We Tune’ – a call for the local steelbands to play local calypsos for the Panorama competition – earned him third place in the 2008 Groovy Soca competition and his 2010 calypso ‘They Love My People’ took him to third place in the Calypso Monarch Finals, receiving much acclaim. A true carnivalist and a true gentleman, Admiral is a keen tenor pan exponent for Rhapsody Steel Band in Reading and played a vital role in the development and running of the Read- ing Community Carnival from 1985 to 2002. In 2000 he organised Reading’s ﬁrst calypso tent, featuring calypsonians such as Dave B and David Brewster, who later performed at the ABC Tent. He established his regular AJ’s Calypso Tent in 2003 and is a member of the ACUK Executive Committee.

38 CALYPSONIANS IN PROFILE

DeeVine DENISE WALKER-PHILLIPS

DeeVine is a three times award nominee, born in Lon- don and raised in Barbados from the age of 6. In April 2011 she came on to the UK soca scene with her powerful Caribbean vocals. During her secondary school years she formed a dance group, performing at school concerts and local shows. At age 17 she was brieﬂy a member of a soca band called Hide & Seek before returning to London where in 1997 she continued her studies in Music Technology & Business Management. Since 2013 DeeVine has performed on a number of live television programmes, including Good Morning Barbados. In 2016 she took part in the Leeds Carnival Soca Monarch competition and was placed third. This year she performed in Boston and Berlin alongside Destra and Skinny Fabulous.

Deloris Francis

Jamaican-born singer Deloris Francis is best known for her gospel and reggae repertoire, but she showed her versatility at the London Calypso Tent. With her ﬁne voice, she proved a popular performer with the audience at the Yaa Asantewaa Centre between 2002 and 2005. Her competition entries included ‘Good Life’ and ‘Carnival Time’ in 2003. She regularly toured the Caribbean with her band Inner Force.

39 CALYPSONIANS IN PROFILE

Dezzy Boy CONRAD ATILLE

Described on bills as “St Lucia’s King”, Dezzy Boy was an early member of the ABC and was listed on the programme issued for the ﬁrst London Calypso Tent season. In 1989 he recorded ‘Everybody Jump Jump’, credited to Sam Carroll and Ken Gibson, on Nottinghill Records, while another release was ‘Like a Soca Man’.

Don King DONALD KING

He was listed on the programme for the ﬁrst London Calypso Tent on 7 August 1992 singing ‘Dynamite’, but no more is known about his subsequent career.

Fakekou STERLING CALLENDER

Trinidad-born Fakekou divides his time between the USA and the UK, and took part in the 2010 season. Although he has not competed recently, he continues to release calypso-soca and soca fusion music such as ‘Champions’ (for the 2012 London Olympics), ‘I Know’ and ‘Weekend’. He explained, “I’m working hard to master my talent and to fuse soca with other genres of music out there.” As for his outlook: “As long you love soca and calypso, you can enjoy life!”

40 CALYPSONIANS IN PROFILE

G-String GERRY ARCHER

G-String has been performing in the London Calypso Tent for the past 10 years. A keen musician, studio engineer and songwriter, he is also an enthusiastic pannist, drummer and DJ and is often seen at events, participating and performing in the diferent artforms. He also has a strong philanthropic side, and is currently developing educational projects in West Africa. He sees the role of the calypsonian as building foundations for future generations by passing on cultural information, developing skills and raising awareness. ‘High Blood Pressure’, his calypso for 2017, is typical of his style, combining humour with a serious social commentary message. This parody of a visit to the doctor leads to a discussion on terrorism through the eyes of the media and the way it impinges on the views of the general public. He was King of the Tent and Calabash Calypso Artist of the Year in both 2015 and 2016. In 2016, G-String was crowned UK Calypso Monarch for ‘Referendum’, and many felt he was unlucky to miss out the previous year with his powerful calypso ‘Spoils of War’.

Giselle GISELLE CARTER

Giselle began singing at a very young age, winning her secondary school’s Calypso Monarch title three times. She launched her professional career in calypso in 1998, initially as a frontline vocalist for the band Kalyan and proceeded to win many titles in Trinidad. In 2003 Giselle moved to the UK to study, and won the ﬁrst ever UK Groovy Soca Monarch competition in 2007, with ‘When Will I See You Again?’. The following year ‘I Have Hope’, dedicated to the memory of eight-year-old Hope Arismandez, won her the Calypso Monarch title. Giselle says she is the only female singing MC in London and is also lead vocalist alongside Konata for ONE... the band.

41 CALYPSONIANS IN PROFILE

Golden Cockerel VIVIAN COMMA†

The ‘Grandfather of Calypso’ in Britain, Vivian Comma had made his name in Trinidad by winning the Road March in 1953 with ‘Madeleine Oyé’. The music was used three years later in the ﬁlm Fire Down Below starring Rita Hayworth, Robert Mitchum and Edric Connor; Comma also composed music for The Heart Within, released the same year. Further examples of his versatility as a musician are the use of his ‘Princess Charming’ in a 1961 jazz album and judging steelbands at the 1952 Trinidad Music Festival. Comma had considerable staying power – in the London Calypso Tent’s ﬁrst year he was King of the Tent and still managed to come third in 1994 when he was 80 years old! The Golden Cockerel last appeared on the ABC stage in 1997 and passed away the following year at the age of 84. He is the only London-based calypsonian to have a road named after him, Vivian Comma Close, of Blackstock Road near Finsbury Park. Singer-songwriter L J A Brown chose Vivian Comma Close as the title for his 2016 album – a very contemporary honour for a true pioneer.

Iguana So far as is known, Iguana appeared at the London Calypso Tent only in the 2001 (when he sang ‘Wine Back’) and 2002 seasons.

42 CALYPSONIANS IN PROFILE

Helena B HELENA BEDEAU

Influenced by singers such as Singing Sandra and Baron, Helena B spent some years as a backing singer for numerous artistes including Machel Mon- tano, Baron, Sparrow, Inspector and Skunky (Odian Cyrus). She first appears on the London Calypso Tent’s flyer in 2001 and in 2005 ‘Congo Tay’ brought her top place in the Calypso Monarch competition, while ‘Crime Does Not Pay’ proved another crowd favourite. Helena B has represented the ABC and UK-based calypso overseas with wonderful performances at Kaiso House in Trinidad & Tobago in 2006 and twice in the Spice Island of Grenada. Additionally, she worked hard to encourage youngsters to appreciate Carnival artforms. Her daughter, Kiki B, won ABC’s Junior Calypso Monarch competitions on three occasions.

43 CALYPSONIANS IN PROFILE

Jamma PHILLIP STEWART

Birmingham-based Jamma says he never looked back after he began playing the steelpan at the age of 11, and in 1987, 1988 and 1989 he won the National Steel Band Soloist Championship of Great Britain. Shortly afterwards, he set up the Jamma Caribbean Jazz Band, with steelpan as a lead instrument, performing at clubs like Ronnie Scott’s and the Jazz Café. His son, Jamani, is also a talented steelpan player. Jamma joined the ABC in 1999. His entry for the 2001 Calypso Monarch competition was a song entitled ‘Ignorance’, which targeted jazz club owners who were saying “We don’t want your pans in here”. Party songs such as ‘Bumcy Party’ and ‘Dancing’ also proved popular, but he last appeared at the Tent in 2002.

Keisha K KEISHA WILLIAMS

Keisha K is a young soca artiste who took part in the Groovy Soca Monarch competition in 2015 (with ‘Visa’) and in 2016.

44 CALYPSONIANS IN PROFILE

Lord Cloak ERROL BROWN

This founder member of the ABC may be a veteran these days, but he still provides stif competition for calypsonians half his age, coming third in 2015 with ‘People to Remember’. In 2017 he again reached into the past with his ﬁfth-placed ‘Where Were You?’, which compared the travails of the early Car- ibbean migrants with the experiences of newer arrivals. He is a potent crowd favourite at the London Calypso Tent, with a witty and mischievous stage presence. For two decades he was the prin- cipal rival of the Mighty Tiger, tying with him in 1979 before winning the next two years’ competitions outright. He holds the record for the gaining greatest number of UK Calypso Monarch crowns, believed to be 14 in all, up to his last in 2002 with ‘Rules and Regulations’. Like many of Cloak’s calypsos, it targeted the Notting Hill Carnival establishment; others in the same vein included ‘The Council Taking Over’ (2004) and ‘Since Claire Gone’ (2006). Strik- ing outﬁts, impeccable timing and great interaction with the crowd are hallmarks of Cloak’s presentations. In 1998, he revealed some of his secrets: “You must have good diction, presentation and performance. The judges want to hear lyrics; your song must say something.”

45 CALYPSONIANS IN PROFILE

Kerwin Du Bois

Kerwin has a unique place in the Tent’s history as he was the ABC’s ﬁrst visiting T&T Junior Calypso Monarch, delighting audiences in ABC’s second season, in 1993. He subsequently returned every year (apart from 1998) to 1999 and joined ABC as a UK-based member in 2000. His success was immediate, as he won the UK Calypso Monarch title that year in the NHCT-organised ﬁnals at the Tab- ernacle with ‘Ever Changing Times’.

King Cobra

Little is known about this artiste, who is believed to have taken part only at Not- ting Hill Carnival Trust’s competition in 2000 – boycotted by most ABC members – with ‘You Can’t Keep Me Down’.

Lucky PATRICK HUMPHREY

Back in his native Grenada, Patrick Humphrey was originally Lord Fortunate, then Unlucky and ﬁnally Lucky at a time when singing calypso still had a stigma attached to it. Under that soubriquet, he won Grenada’s crowns in 1971 and 1973, and moved to the UK in the latter year, where he and his band proved very popular. He won one of the pre-ABC Calypso Monarch contests in 1985 with ‘Raw Deal – Dead’ic’ation’, which tore into PM Margaret Thatcher’s abolition of the Greater London Council. Lucky says he won another calypso contest in the UK, although the date is unknown. He took part in the ABC’s very ﬁrst Calypso Monarch Finals, in 1992, and was still a member in 1994.

46 CALYPSONIANS IN PROFILE

Masterlink MARTIN GEORGE

Masterlink began writing calypsos at an early age and performed under the sobriquet The Mighty Puzzle in Trinidad & Tobago until 1978, when he changed to his current stage name to reflect the link and passage across the Atlantic of ancestors from Africa to the Amer- icas. Masterlink made it to the finals in the Southern Bri- gade in Trinidad and went on to record his calypsos. With his first record, ‘Freedom in We Hand’, he toured in St Lucia, Canada and his beloved Grenada. He made his London Calypso Tent debut in 2013 and continues to demonstrate his ability to hold his own with the other talented artistes of the Tent.

McKenzie Hart

Mckenzie Hart is the youngest member of the ACUK. At only 15 years of age she made her debut in 2016, when she came second in the Groovy Soca competition – a remarkable achievement, and one that met with the approval of the crowd. Her beautiful voice and conﬁdent presentation of her fusion of gospel with soca positions her as a rising star with a lot to ofer the London Tent.

47 CALYPSONIANS IN PROFILE

Mighty Astronaut DERRYCK NECKLES†

The Mighty Astronaut, from Grenada, deserves much of the credit for helping to start the ABC by rallying the calypsonians after the farcical semi-ﬁnals of 1991 and suggesting they set up their own calypso tent. He persuaded Mighty Tiger to lead the new organisation, because he was the only calypsonian at the time with the right experience. Astronaut knew Tiger well, as both worked for London Transport and he had heard Tiger mention on many occasions that he used to sing in Lord Kitchener’s tent in Trinidad. In 1991 Astronaut released ‘Soca Jammin’ Party’, and on the Tent’s opening night we ﬁnd him singing the appropriately titled ‘Caribbean Calypso Competi- tion’ – reportedly, the song that won him a prize for Most Original Calypso way back in 1972! Until his last performances on the Yaa stage in 1998, singing ‘Carnival Long Ago’, he was loyal to the ABC, but wasn’t averse to branching out, as in 1994 he also appeared at Tobago Crusoe’s Kaiso House in Clapton. The following year his songs were ‘Lillian and the Preacher’ and ‘I Wan’ my Gravy’. His soubriquet came about, he said, because he was “an observer and reporter of great and wide vision”.

Mighty Explorer HORACE BLAKE

Explorer learned the skills of calypso competition and presentation from calypsonians in St Vincent, which he used to good efect from the late 1970s onwards. He started out as a guitarist but from the moment he stepped on the stage at Yaa with ‘Sweet Melody’ it was his singing of always attractive calypsos that got him known. They included ‘Graveyard Robbery’, ‘Vote for Me’, ‘You Can Make it if You Try’ and his 1995 tongue-lashing for calypso competition judges ‘It’s not What You Do’. As a true traditional-style calypsonian, Explorer rarely appeared on stage without his trademark hat. His last performance is believed to have been at the Black History Month calypso show on 22 August 2010, when he sang ‘Sweet Soca’.

48 CALYPSONIANS IN PROFILE

Mr International JEFFREY SIMON

So far as is known, Mr International only performed as a calypsonian at the London Tent in 2002, but he proved himself an entertaining MC in 2007 and 2008 and reportedly “kept the audience laughing all night”.

Ms Desire LOUISE STERLING-JACKMAN

A new member of ACUK, Ms Desire made her ﬁrst appearance at the 2016 Groovy Soca competition. Recently she was signed up by Caribbean music giants VP Records, which will be distributing her ﬁrst album, Desire, worldwide. Twice she has won Best UK Female Soca Artist, Best UK Soca Artist and was Soca News Groovy Soca Monarch Winner in 2012. Ms Desire began her musical career as a member of her church choir and was chosen to perform before the Queen for the Golden Jubilee celebrations of 2002. She has shared the stage with top soca artistes such as Machel Montano, Alison Hinds, Destra Garcia and Edwin Yearwood.

49 CALYPSONIANS IN PROFILE

Muffinman ANDRÉ ROSTANT

Of Trinidadian and Irish ancestry, Mufnman, who joined ACUK in 2017, has the perfect background for singing catchy and topical ballads. He is a talented singer-songwriter with a penchant for social commentary, as depicted in ‘Manchester’ – his response to the ter- rorist bombing of an Ariane Grande concert in May 2017 – and ‘The Heroes on the Stair’, which honours the Grenfell victims and community. He modestly describes his work as “a rough and ready recording, but from the heart”. His main Tent debut song, ‘Soca Resistance’, made an immediate connection with the audience. Like many calypsonians at the Tent, he is also a steelpan player.

Musicman MICHAEL NANTON

Musicman was born in Georgetown, St Vincent & the Grenadines, with music in his soul and started composing and singing from an early age. He moved to the UK in 2002 to further his musical career, becoming a member of the ABC in 2003. Greatly inﬂuenced by Bob Marley, he developed his own style and image, composing and performing songs that reﬂect the state of the world today, on topics such as pollu- tion, Aids, crime and politics. His songs reveal a com- mitment to the Rastafarian culture, philosophy and beliefs and cover styles from reggae to calypso and raggamufn to soca. He has performed in St Vincent, Sweden and the UK, and has been been featured on Travel Channel.

50 CALYPSONIANS IN PROFILE

Natia Daniel

London-born singer-songwriter Natia has roots in Jamaica and St Lucia, and competed in the 2015 and 2016 Groovy Soca Monarch contests. She says her love of soca grew through attending numerous fetes and feels her music is a fusion of calypso, soca, R&B, reggae and zouk. Before appearing on the ABC stage she secured runner-up positions in the 2013 Soca News UK Soca Monarch and UK Soca Road March competitions.

Nikisha NIKISHA REYES-PILE

The combination of a soulful voice and a striking presence on stage, Nikisha was one of the Tent’s most impressive Groovy Soca Monarch contestants. In 2013 she took home the winner’s trophy with ‘Closer to Me’, and the following year she shared the top spot (with Sheldon Skeete) for ‘Body Groove’. She was honoured with an award from the Trinidad & Tobago High Com- mission for her contribution to the calypso artform. Nikisha works as a session singer for several music publishing companies and has toured the UK exten- sively. She has opened for Machel Montano, Bunji Garlin and Faye Ann Lyons, among other well-known Caribbean soca stars.

51 CALYPSONIANS IN PROFILE

Peace and Love DENIS WILLIAMS†

Once seen, never forgotten! Peace and Love was a one-of and his unique performance style made him a Tent favourite with songs like ‘It Never Comes When You Want It’. Although he was never in danger of winning a Monarch title, he did gain 1996’s King of the Tent accolade. His convoluted lyrics, fancy footwork and eccentric woolly hats frequently got the loudest cheers of the night. He will go down as one of the most extro- vert and entertaining calypsonians on the ABC stage. Peace and Love arrived in the UK from Grenada in the late 50s, witnessed the ﬁrst steelpan on the road in Notting Hill in 1964, began performing in 1978 and was a founder member of the Association of Brit- ish Calypsonians in 1991. His last season was in 2010. “I have the best solution to the world’s problems,” he said. That life philosophy, prompted by the violence of the 1976 Notting Hill Carnival riots, was refreshingly uncomplicated: “The answer is to live in peace and love and that is the best.”

Prince Yacob BERRIS HENRIQUES

This founding member of the ABC may well have taken part only in the Tent’s opening season, when he sang ‘Ja Carnival’. As that title suggests, he was a reggae singer who in 1991 released ‘Jamaica Carnival’ and ‘Bonita Senorita’ on the Green Island Productions label. In its early days, ABC president Mighty Tiger recalled, “We had some people who weren’t even calypsonians, but they wanted to sing on the stage and it was a great opportunity.” His ABC membership application stated he had 25 years experience as a singer. It is believed that Henriques subsequently returned to Jamaica.

52 CALYPSONIANS IN PROFILE

Prodigal Son MICHAEL ‘BUBBLES’ OLIVIERRE

In addition to being a calypsonian, multi-talented ‘Bubbles’ is a well-known musician and arranger and also the pan tuner for Tabernacle-based Mangrove Steel Band. He ﬁrst came to notice at the London Calypso Tent in 1994. As The Prodigal Son, he was acclaimed King of the Tent that year, singing ‘We Jumpin’ Tonight’. In 1995 he seems to have contemplated changing his soubriquet to Saint Michael, but stuck with the Prodigal Son for ‘Brown Girl in the Rain’ and ‘The Rights and Wrongs of the Monarchy’. His ﬁnal season at the Tent was in 1997. In 2009 he provided the calypso vocals for ‘Pan Fever, which was described as a family show telling the story of the steel pan through music provided by Reading steelband RASPO. The show premiered to an enthusiastic audience at WOMAD 2009 in Charlton Park, Wiltshire.

Redman NEIL CAVE-DICK

Trinidad-born Redman was new to the London Calypso Tent in 2008. In 2009 he was singing ‘Don’t Envy’ and ‘The World Today’, while in his ﬁnal year, 2010, his calypsos were ‘Ah Done wit Picong’ and ‘Black Hen Chicken’.

53 CALYPSONIANS IN PROFILE

Rev B BERTHE BROWNE

If you believe calypso should be well written, delivered with conviction and convey a strong message about social justice, then Rev B is the calypsonian for you. He never fails to impress with messages that capture the issues of the day and his calypsos can provoke much debate among listeners – he tells it like it is. Perceived as the conscience of the ACUK membership, the always debonair Rev B is a masterful calypsonian who many feel has been unlucky to have missed out on the calypso crown – and on more than one occasion the eventual winner has been his wife, Beverley, aka Brown Sugar! When he is not singing, Oxford-based Rev B acts as an imposing MC for the Tent and is a full-time church minister. In combination with his missionary work, he is also a true evangelist of calypso and has taken the artform to Israel, Rome and the USA.

Rev Sweetfoot DON CAESAR†

Hailing from the Spice Island of Grenada, he also appeared as Sweet Foot and Don Sweetfoot. He started singing calypso in London in the early 1980s and was a founder member of the Association of Brit- ish Calypsonians in 1991. A consistent performer on the stage at the Asantewaa Centre, he also recorded several albums of ballads, including Free the People and Jump on Me. Individual songs included ‘Freedom’, ‘Ramujae’ and ‘Notting Hill Carnival’. He continued competing until 2008.

54 CALYPSONIANS IN PROFILE

Rondell Donawa

A new entry to the Tent in 2009, Trinidad-born Rondell had actually performed previously in London, singing at a Black History Month event in 2001. Between those two appearances, he won the South (Trinidad) Junior Calypso Monarch contest in 2004 and 2005, and reached second four times in the National Juniors. In his ﬁrst year (when the rules did not allow participation in the Monarch contest), he sang ‘Love Yuself’ and in the following season his entry was ‘Imitation of Success’. For the Black History Month calypso show, it was his second Tent song, ‘Take Pride’ that he performed. Although no longer an ACUK member, Rondell continues to write and perform and his 2017 calypso ‘Lip Service’ gives a ﬂavour of his current style. When not singing calypso, he is an attorney.

Rowdie

Also appearing on the bill as Rowdy, there are few details about this calypsonian, who was part of the ABC line-up in 2007.

Santiago JAMES WALKER

Santiago joined ABC in 2013 and has gone from strength to strength. His refreshing brand of calypso and rapso woos the audiences and his performances are always hotly anticipated. In 2014 it was predicted that Santiago was “deﬁnitely one to watch out for this coming season” and so it proved. Moving from Peo- ple’s Champion in 2014, he secured the UK Groovy Soca Monarch title for the second time. Santiago enjoys spending time with his wife and daughter, who are most often the muses of the humorous calypsos in which he specialises and presents to appreciative audiences.

55 CALYPSONIANS IN PROFILE

Sheldon Skeete

At the age of 16 Sheldon performed his ﬁrst calypso at his Secondary School’s competition, a song entitled ‘A Sister’s Plea’ composed by his father Leslie Skeete, which gained second place. In 2000, three years after migrating to England Sheldon discovered he had the gift to compose calypsos. In 2002 he was second runner-up in the UK Calypso Monarch ﬁnal. Despite his demanding career in the Royal Air Force he continues to write songs. In August 2012, Sheldon clinched the UK Calypso Monarch title with a song entitled ‘A Sightless Nation’. By 2015 Sheldon had created history, winning the Calypso Monarch UK title for four consecutive years, the last being a song entitled ‘How to Capture the Monarchy’.

56 CALYPSONIANS IN PROFILE

Sister Sandra SANDRA ALEXANDER

After joining the ABC in 1994, Sister Sandra soon established herself as one of the Tent’s most popular calypsonians, and her 1997 entry, ‘In dis Carnival’, featured on ABC’s ﬁrst compilation CD. That was released in 1998, when the Finals crowd was outraged that ‘Drug Taking is Madness’ – which she performed on the road with Yaa Asantewaa mas band at Notting Hill – was overlooked by the judges. Perhaps her best-known song was the beautiful Alexan- der Loewenthal composition ‘Black on Black’ of 2001, but the calypso crown eluded her until 2003, when her songs were ‘Sautay (Jump Up)’ and ‘How to Keep a Woman’. Quoted in the Evening Stand- ard as she was preparing to go on the road with Yaa Asantewaa once again, she said: “Cloak knew he’d lost, but I couldn’t believe I’d won. I didn’t stop smiling for weeks.” After the following year’s season, sadly she retired from competition. Sandra’s daughter, Celeste, also found success, winning the Junior Calypso Monarch competition in 2001 under the soubriquet Celestial Star.

Soca Kidd BRIAN RICHMOND

Soca Kidd grew up on the beautiful island of Grenada and is a long-time lover of calypso and soca music. Although he is a new recruit to ACUK, he started singing way back in 1986 when he took part in the Junior Calypso semi-ﬁnals. In 2000 Brian recorded ‘How He Name’ and has subsequently produced other soca tracks. Based in London, Brian has performed at fund raising events, Carnival launches, Grenada Heritage Day and Independence Day celebrations. He has also brought his soca music to comedy club performances and in his work as a ﬁtness instructor has used his soca music to train and entertain his clients and classes. He was placed third in the 2016 UK Power Soca Monarch competition and is a regular performer in Grenada Carnival.

57 CALYPSONIANS IN PROFILE

Soca Princess SAMANTHA COMBIE

Born in St Lucia, Soca Princess became part of the London Calypso Tent’s line-up for the ﬁrst time in 2007 and was part of the roster for the next couple of years. Subsequently, she was in St Lucia’s Soca Monarch ﬁnals in 2009, nominated for the International Soca Awards, held in Grenada, in 2012 and selected for the same year’s Soca Music Awards, run by UK magazine Soca News. She placed third in the 2012 Notting Hill Road March competition.

Sunshine and Nadiva SAMANTHA AND NADINE BRYANT

Sunshine and Nadiva have been involved in the ABC Calypso Tent since 2015 and became the reigning UK Road March Queens and the ABC British Groovy Soca Monarchs in 2016, with their hit song ‘Unstoppable’. Emerging on the UK scene with their 2010 Soca hit ‘For Di Road’, they made history in 2011, becoming the ﬁrst artistes to win both the UK Groovy and Power Soca Monarch competitions, in 2012 and 2013, also collect- ing the Calabash Award for best Soca Group. The sisters were nominated for an International Soca Award for Best Soca Duo. They have graced international stages in Berlin, Sweden and New York. Their key inﬂuences include lovers rock, gospel, reggae, RnB, garage and, of course, soca.

58 CALYPSONIANS IN PROFILE

SW Storm SINA-WAYNE MARAJ

He has proved himself to be one of the most versatile soca artistes, imaginatively fusing Caribbean rhythms with other musical genres. He appeared in competition only in 2000 – the year that the Notting Hill Carni- val Trust held its Calypso Monarch Final on the same day as the ABC’s Last Night of the Tent. His impressive performance of ‘Thank You (T&T)’ that night brought him second place against strong competition. SW Storm is still active on the soca scene, infus- ing some of his tracks with a spicy chutney ﬂavour, but these days lives in Canada.

Totally Talibah TALIBAH HAWKINS

Like Sister Sandra, Jamaican-born Totally Talibah ﬁrst appeared on the London Calypso Tent stage at the Yaa Asantewaa Centre in 1994. As an actress as well as singer, Talibah naturally included a strong costume and performance element to her presentations, and these playlets were eagerly anticipated on ﬁnals night. Social commentary was a strong thread running through her songs, which often tackled themes such as injustice and domestic violence. She was Queen of the Tent in 1995. After leaving the competition ten years later, she continued to play a valuable role in the Junior Calypso Monarch contest for many years.

59 CALYPSONIANS IN PROFILE

Tulu TREVOR BURNETT

Hailing from Arima, Trinidad, Tulu appeared at the Tent for only a single season, 2001, when he sang an attractive song, ‘True Love’. Subsequently, in Trinidad he released ‘Lagahoo and La Diablesse’, in 2014.

Wen’D WENDY LEWIS

Her strong advocacy of women’s rights and respect brought Wen’D many fans in London from the moment she arrived on the London scene from Trinidad. She started as a backing singer with the highly regarded soca band Front Page but made her mark as an individual artiste with ‘Iron in de Charcoal’ written by the late Odian Cyrus (Skunky). On 25 August 2000 her entry for the Monarch finals was ‘Mother Africa’, penned by prolific calypso-writer Tobago Crusoe. Despite finding the finals “a nerve-wracking experience”, she reached fourth place. Wen’D improved on that the next year, capturing the Calypso Monarch crown with ‘Immigrant’s Dilemma’. In 2002, resplendent in a black and gold African out- fit on the great stage of the Royal Opera House, she had another strong song, ‘Black Man’, that took her to second place. And then in 2004 she hit gold again with “the ladies’ anthem” ‘My Kind ah Man’. She stopped competing after the 2006 season and returned to Trinidad in 2008, where she is now a television host. She cites as influences on her style Calypso Rose, Denyse Plummer and Black Stalin – “I know every single one of his songs”.

60 CALYPSONIANS IN PROFILE

Yaa Princess HALIMA BRYAN

Few of the ABC calypsonians have been proﬁled in a national newspaper, but that accolade came to Yaa Prin- cess in 1996. As The Times reported, that was the year when ‘Girl Chile’ brought the 12-year-old victory in the Junior Calypso Monarch competition for the second year running (her 1995 calypso was ‘What Colour?’). That success gave her the chance to perform in Trinidad. She had a head start, as her mother is Yaa stalwart and former calypsonian Totally Talibah, and the Yaa Asantewaa mas camp – next to the Tent stage – soon became a second home to her. Unlike most of the junior calypsonians, Yaa Prin- cess carried on at the Tent and became an adult member of the ABC. In 2004 she highlighted the importance of the Junior Calypso Monarch competition to the future of the calypso artform and added, “I would like to see broader exposure for the calypsonians so that a broader range of people can get to hear the music”. Halima is now an actor, and so fulﬁlling the childhood ambition she outlined in that Times interview.

61 CALYPSONIANS IN PROFILE

Soca Divettes MICHELLE CROSS-GLASGOW, CARLENE MCLEAN, GERALDINE REID

The Soca Divettes trio has been carving a career in the calypso, soul, reggae and soca genres for more than a decade. They are a group in their own right but also provide backing vocals for many established singers such as Alison Moyet and Joe Cocker, as well as musicians and producers across a wide variety of musical genres. The Soca Divettes have made television appearances and performed at innumerable events and are invaluable assets for ACUK, providing superlative backing vocals for all the ACUK artistes. They released their third single, entitled ‘Soca Jumbie’ in 2013, which soon became an audience favourite at the London Calypso Tent. Their 2017 release, ‘Me Healer’, has been equally well received.

62 ROLL OF HONOUR

London’s calypso roll of honour

Pre-ABC Monarchs, 1974–1991 1974 Big Davy (Evral Davy) 1975 [no competition] 1976 Mighty Tiger (Ashton Moore) My School Days 1977 Mighty Tiger (Ashton Moore) 1978 Mighty Tiger (Ashton Moore) 1979 Rival competitions run by CAC and CDC: (1) Mighty Tiger (Ashton Moore) Calypso King of Britain/Keep Carnival Clean (2) Lord Cloak (Errol Brown) Man’s Best Friend/Racial Discrimination Mighty Tiger (Ashton Moore) Calypso King of Britain/Keep Carnival Clean 1980 Lord Cloak (Errol Brown) 1981 Lord Cloak (Errol Brown) 1982 Mighty Tiger (Ashton Moore) 1983 Soca Baby (Betty Alexander) Soca in London 1984 Lord Cloak (Errol Brown) Fat Woman 1985 Lucky (Patrick Humphrey) Raw Deal (Dead’ica’tion) 1986 Lord Cloak (Errol Brown) 1987 Mighty Tiger (Ashton Moore) 1988 Voodoo Queen (Patricia Gillian) 1989 [no competition] 1990 [no competition] 1991 Lord Cloak (Errol Brown)

63 ROLL OF HONOUR

ABC/ACUK Calypso Monarchs 1992–2017 1992 Lord Cloak (Errol Brown) The Committee Calypso Monarch Judges 1993 Lord Cloak (Errol Brown) Tribute to Boots 1994 Lord Cloak (Errol Brown) Peace in this World/I Protest 1995 Lord Cloak (Errol Brown) Senior Citizens/Killer Aids 1996 Lord Cloak (Errol Brown) What You Bring for Me? 1997 Lord Cloak (Errol Brown) How to Make your Woman Love You/ Friendly Enemies 1998 Mighty Tiger (Ashton Moore) One of These Days Africa/Crime Don’t Pay 1999 Lord Cloak (Errol Brown) Lost Loved One/Don’t Blame de Judges 2000 Kerwin Du Bois Ever Changing Times 2001 Wen’D (Wendy Lewis) Immigrant’s Dilemma 2002 Lord Cloak (Errol Brown) Rules and Regulations 2003 Sister Sandra (Sandra Alexander) Sautay (Jump Up)/How to Keep a Woman 2004 Wen’D (Wendy Lewis) My Kind ah Man 2005 Helena B (Helena Bedeau) Congo Tay 2006 Brown Sugar (Beverley Browne) Free Yuh Mind 2007 Brown Sugar (Beverley Browne) Send dem to Jail 2008 Giselle (Carter) I Have Hope/Wine with You 2009 Akima Paul Passport Love 2010 Alexander D Great (A Loewenthal) Haiti/News Just Coming In 2011 Alexander D Great (A Loewenthal)/ Debra Romain Pan Woman on Trial 2012 Sheldon Skeete A Sightless Nation 2013 Sheldon Skeete Send Dem Afghanistan 2014 Sheldon Skeete Voices 2015 Sheldon Skeete How to Capture the Monarchy 2016 G-String (Gerry Archer) Referendum 2017 Brown Sugar (Beverley Browne) Equal Opportunities

64 ROLL OF HONOUR

ABC/ACUK Groovy Soca Monarchs 2007–2017 2007 Giselle (Carter) When Will I See You Again? 2008 Brown Sugar (Beverley Browne) You Ah Calling 2009 Unknown 2010 Cleopatra (Cleo Guiste) Doh Talk de Talk 2011 Brown Sugar (Beverley Browne) Put ah Ring on It 2012 Cleopatra (Cleo Guiste) Feelings 2013 Nikisha (Reyes-Pile) Closer to Me 2014 = Nikisha (Reyes-Pile) Body Groove = Sheldon Skeete The Groovy Song 2015 Santiago (James Walker) Island’s Too Small 2016 Sunshine & Nadiva Unstoppable (Samantha and Nadine Bryant) 2017 Santiago (James Walker) Feteing Fathers

ABC Junior Calypso Monarchs 1993–2011 1993 Lady Puni 1994 Unknown 1995 Yaa Princess (Halima Bryan) What Colour? 1996 Yaa Princess (Halima Bryan) Girl Chile 1997 King Samuel (Dave Samuel) 1998 [no competition] 1999 [no competition] 2000 Unknown 2001 Celestial Star (Celeste Alexander) 2002 Unknown 2003 Unknown 2004 Queen Latifah (Latifah Damali) 2005 Unknown 2006 Queen Latifah (Latifah Damali) One Look 2007 Kiki B (Kianna Smith) Teach Them 2008 Oba the King (Oba Shabaka Thompson) 2009 Kiki B (Kianna Smith) 2010 Kiki B (Kianna Smith) Image Is Not Everything 2011 Little L (La Toya Fe Browne) In 2012

65 ROLL OF HONOUR

ABC Black History Month Junior Monarchs 2005–2011 2005 King Oba (Oba Shabaka Thompson) 2006 Kiki B (Kianna Smith) My Tribute 2007 Unknown 2008 Kiki B (Kianna Smith) I Am Not Black, I Am Me 2009 VeeVee (Viquichele Cross-Glasgow) What I Want 2010 VeeVee (Viquichele Cross-Glasgow) World TLC 2011 VeeVee (Viquichele Cross-Glasgow)

66 Behind the scenes

The audience’s eyes are naturally focused on the stage on calypso tent nights, but behind the scenes a small team will have been working hard to make sure the association functions efectively and the event runs smoothly year after year. It’s only fair to give credit where it’s due – they all deserve a round of applause!

1995 Chairman and co-ordinator Ashton Moore Project organiser (Yaa Asantewaa) Shabaka Thompson Administrator and musical director Len Homer Marketing and public relations ofcer Wendy Cutler Junior Calypso Monarch competition co-ordinator Angela Hector-Watkins

1996 President Ashton Moore Chairman Len Homer Project organiser (Yaa Asantewaa) Shabaka Thompson Marketing and public relations ofcer Wendy Cutler Junior Calypso Monarch competition co-ordinator Angela Hector-Watkins

1998 President Ashton Moore* Project organiser (Yaa Asantewaa) Shabaka Thompson Marketing and public relations ofcer Wendy Cutler Membership representative Talibah Hawkins * Elected chair of Notting Hill Carnival Trust

67 BEHIND THE SCENES

2000 President Ashton Moore Project organiser (Yaa Asantewaa) Shabaka Thompson Administrator, marketing and PR ofcer Wendy Cutler Calypsonians’ representative Talibah Hawkins Co-opted member Merle Blondell

2006 President Ashton Moore Chair Shabaka Thompson Administrator Nicole-Rachelle Moore Committee members Merle Blondell, Cedric Gopaul, Maureen Roberts (Talibah Hawkins), Carla Parris, Deborah Alleyne de Gazon

2008 President and co-ordinator Ashton Moore Executive ofcers Merle Blondell, Berthe Browne, Cedric Gopaul, Derek Homer, Kemi Sobers,Deborah Alleyne de Gazon Staf members Nicole-Rachelle Moore/Dawn Ford

2017 Chairman and trustee director Vincent John Trustee directors Merle Blondell, Alexander Loewenthal, Eon Pyle, Kemi Sobers Executive members Jefrey Hinds, Sheldon Skeete