One of the reasons why Barbados’ spouge beat failed to blossom successfully was that the music industry was controlled by a group of corporate entities when it was trying to establish its presence on the market.
This assertion was made by bassist and recording engineer Norman Barrow, during the Jackie Opel Day roundtable discussion Celebrating The Life & Music Of A Legend at the Courtney Blackman Grande Salle, Central Bank, on Saturday night.
The event, coordinated by the National Library Service, also had as panellists entertainers Richard Stoute and Desmond Weekes; adjunct lecturer in music at the University of the West Indies Cave Hill, Dr Stefan Walcott, and songwriter Sach Moore.
Moderator was Dr Marcia Burrowes, lecturer in cultural studies at Cave Hill.
“The music industry was controlled by [a certain company] and all the people who were making waves and selling thousands and thousands of copies all over the Caribbean. In the late ’60s and ’70s Barbados was a different place than it is now socially and it was not supposed to happen. That is my feeling.
“We suffered from it. I suffered from it. I can tell you stories that make you cry, about the pressure that was put on me by the same organisation to stop doing what I was doing,” said Barrow. (JS)