Remarks by Michael Marcano on 40th anniversary of the bpTT Renegades
The Honourable Winston Peters, Minister of Arts and Muticulturalism
His Worship, the Mayor of Port of Spain, Mr. Murchison Brown
Mr. Robert Riley Chairman and CEO bpTT
Members of the media
Band members, supporters, and other invited guest
Ladies and Gentlemen
His Worship, the Mayor of Port of Spain, Mr. Murchison Brown
Mr. Robert Riley Chairman and CEO bpTT
Members of the media
Band members, supporters, and other invited guest
Ladies and Gentlemen
Good evening
Perhaps I should warn you not to be alarmed if the papers in my hand begin to self-destruct in the next few seconds. I have been given the impossible mission of bringing you highlights of Renegades career in a few minutes rather than the several hours it would take to cover their countless achievements.
Perhaps I should warn you not to be alarmed if the papers in my hand begin to self-destruct in the next few seconds. I have been given the impossible mission of bringing you highlights of Renegades career in a few minutes rather than the several hours it would take to cover their countless achievements.
Renegades Steel Orchestra is one of the oldest surviving steel bands in the world today. Its history date back to 1948, and is as filled with the agonies of setbacks as it is with the glory and ecstasy of accomplishments. Victories achieved because of the tenacity and perseverance of men and women who were as passionate about their art as they were of their organization.
Fortunately, much of this history is captured in a book by Kim Johnson entitled, ‘Renegades—The History of the Renegades Steel Orchestra of Trinidad and Tobago.’ I sincerely hope (and Mr. Minister, please take note) that this book, a first by any steel band, will one day become required reading in our nations’ schools.
Renegades is perhaps best known in this country for its domination of the National Panorama Competition in the eighties and nineties with nine victories between 1982 and 1997, including a hatrick between 1995 and 1997. That, my friends, is only the icing…there is a whole lot of cake beneath that is as astonishing as it is fascinating.
When Ethelbert Serrette destroyed the instruments of the Ohio Cassanovas on Carnival Tuesday 1947, he had no idea that his act of wanton violence and destruction would give birth to an organization that would receive in 1992, the nation’s second highest award, The Chaconia Gold Medal, for its outstanding contribution to the culture of the country.
The players, most of whom were around fourteen to fifteen years of age at the time, would not have had gracing the concert stages the world over on their minds when they decided on Ash Wednesday 1947, to regroup and form a band of their own. There was no panorama competition or steel band music festival to consider when Kelvin ‘Pelican’ Brown’s father, who was the foreman at a quarry in Basilon Street, gave them permission to store the pans in an unused kiln. The only thing that was on their minds was having a band with which to parade the streets on public holidays and on carnival days.
The band did not even have a name when it hit the road for the first time on Empire Day (May 24) 1948, tramping around a few blocks before dashing back into the quarry to escape the police. The name ‘Renegades,’ was adopted in 1949, from a western movie by that name. Before that, they had tried ‘Bad Men of Missouri’ and ‘Dodge City’ but quickly discarded them.
The name Renegades, had a certain ring to it. Perhaps it reflected a kind of image—physical strength and courage, aggressiveness, and lack of emotion—that was in keeping with the period—the 50s being the era of steelband warfare. It made them the equal of their counterparts such as Desperadoes, Destination Tokyo, Rising Sun, Casablanca, and Invaders, all of whom had taken their names from war moves to reflect their combative nature as was the order of the day.
It was during this period that Stephen ‘Goldteeth” Nicholson, a former Casablanca member, was invited to take over the reins as captain of Renegades. Goldteeth was a violent, autocratic man, a street fighter. He imprinted his forceful personality on the band that gave it the toughness to endure but also got them into fights with a dozen other steel bands, sometimes several at the same time.
The band’s notoriety kept away masqueraders, pan players, and even supporters. Fathers would beat a daughter caught speaking to a Renegades pan man; mothers forbade their sons to join the band. Some of the players kept away from the band until it was far from home before taking a nock—afraid of being spotted by their parents.
When Renegades went on the warpath, no holds were barred. Because of this, they were denied a permit to play on the street for carnival in 1960 and 1961. Several of it players migrated to other bands during this period so that come carnival 1962, when the ban was lifted, Renegades was unable to muster a strong enough force to come on the road in spite of the efforts of ‘Brokofoot’ Raymond, to whom Goldteeth had passed the captaincy.
In 1963, Renegades moved camp from Basilon Street to La Cour Harpe at the behest of the youngsters in the band, most of whom were also associated with a gang called, The Lawbreakers. The Lawbreakers, included men with sobriquets such as Dr Rat, Bambi, Little Axe, Papito, and Boldface—youngsters with a penchant for committing petty crimes and for indiscriminate hooliganism. They assumed leadership positions in the band so that the name, Lawbreakers soon became synonymous with that of Renegades.
Goldteeth took the captaincy away from Brokofoot Raymond and gave it to Oswald McSween – one of the Lawbreakers. McSween’s reign however, was short-lived as not long after his appointment, police arrested and charged him along with two other men, for the possession of firearms. He won his case but by then Julian ‘Jubal’ Alexander had already replaced him as captain.
In those days, Renegades had no resident arranger. Different people were brought from time to time to arrange music for them. Belgrave and Carlton ‘Block’ Bonaparte, two top pan men from Southern Symphony in Point Fortin; Junior Pouchet, of Silver Stars also did a few tunes in the sixties, as well as Trevor ‘Brutus’ Charles, of Invaders. Selwyn Mohammed, brother of the famous Bobby Mohammed of Guinness Cavaliers, took over the reins in 1967 and earned the distinction of being the person responsible for the transformation of the band into a more musically competitive, less destructive group.
Throughout 1968, Mohammed maintained a permanent stage side, travelling from San Fernando on a daily basis to hold practice sessions. It was also during his tour that the band placed third in the J’ouvert Morning Bomb Competition of 1968 playing, ‘My Heart and I’; made it into the Panorama finals for the first time in 1969, and won the J’ouvert Morning Bomb competition playing, ‘In A Monastery Garden.
In June 1970, Renegades received sponsorship from AMOCO Trinidad Oil Company (now BP TT). This contributed in no small way to the band’s change of image as well as its fortunes. Sponsorship provided the wherewithal to purchase top quality instruments made by one of the leading tuners in the country, Betrand Butch Kellman. It was Kelman too who in 1971, recommended the hiring of Jit Samaroo to arrange music for the band.
The first night Jit arranged, ‘One Bad Apple’ by the Osmond Family and within days, the players were agitating for him to arrange for Panorama as well. Jit then became the band’s fulltime musical director and from then up until his retirement in 2007, determined the musical direction of the Renegades, developing for it a wide-ranging repertoire that includes selections from almost every genre of music under the sun. Following his retirement, the band’s classical adaptations became the responsibility of Desmond Waithe while Amrit Samaroo, Duvonne Stewart, and Kenneth Guppy have all added their works to the band’s extensive playlist.
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Remarks by bpTT Chairman and CEO Robert Riley at a function to mark the 40th Anniversary of the bpTT Renegades
Remarks by Michael Marcano on 40th anniversary of the bpTT Renegades (continued)Remarks by Michael Marcano on 40th anniversary of the bpTT Renegades
