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CC 2014 #4 Barbados

Lindsay Pell

Senior Producer, Commonwealth Connections

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the Ruk a Tuk band

Barbados

It is said that if you set sail westward from the UK and follow the currents you will always land up in Barbados and curiously in some ways Barbados still feels quite closely connected to British culture.

On a scorching day just before Christmas, we met Wayne ‘Poonka’ Willocks and his Ruk a Tuk band on the beach near Bridgeton. I was astonished when I heard this three piece drum and penny whistle band by how familiar it sounded – like a mini Scottish pipe band, without the bagpipes. There was a little African swagger in some of the drum rhythms but otherwise it was a very similar soundworld. The pennywhistle made me think of the ‘piping aboard’ traditions you get in the Navy and may well have been drawn from the strong British Naval presence in the 18th and 19th centuries – judging from the number of ship canons found and now displayed at the Garrison in Bridgeton.

a BBC sound engineer of the future

Barbados is small but it is proud of its successes and cherishes its most talented people. Pop singer Rihanna was in town while we were there but walks freely out shopping and is treated like a local girl – by chance I met her old Sunday school teacher who knows her family and takes an interest in this nice girl, who sang so sweetly in the Church choir.

The Mighty Gabby

Another singer beloved of the Bajans is ‘The Mighty Gabby’ – a man of the people and an Ambassador for the Arts in Barbados, he is greeted with huge warmth and respect everywhere he goes. As big in his own country as his best friends Mick Jagger and Eddie Grant are elsewhere in the world, to be around Gabby is like being around a superstar. He uses his fame and his considerable talent to be a spokesman for his people and his songs reflect his interests and social concerns over several decades from everything from racial prejudice, anti-war reflections, anti-government action, love and of course his personal passion, cricket. Cricket legends Wes Hall and fellow fast bowler Charlie Griffith are gods.

Lindsay Pell

Commonwealth Connections is broadcast on BBC Radio 3 as part of World On 3 (Friday 11pm-1am) the series runs until the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow this July.

The Ruk a Tuk band recording session

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