The steelpan is the national instrument of Trinidad and Tobago. It is the only new instrument to be invented in the 20th Century. As the manager of one of the most outstanding steelbands in England, Pepe Francis, has written this article in the hope of rectifying some of the myths surrounding the foundation and growth of steelbands from Trinidad and Tobago to England. (v. Feste e tradizioni: Notting Hill Carnival)

The steelpan instrument was born out of a poor nation, oppressed by the European plantation owners who ruled Trinidad and Tobago at that time. For many of the oppressed of that era rhythmic music and dance was a refreshing past time. Instruments were self made from the tamboo bamboo (Tamboo being derived from the French word 'Tambour' meaning 'drum'). They were also made with bamboo and the biscuit drum, made from the drums that were used to pack biscuits by the Bermudez and Sunrise Biscuit Company. The conventional steelpans of today used to be created from the discarded oil drums left in the fields by oil companies. 

No one is sure who invented the first steelpan note and research is still being carried out by Fan Trinbago (the world governing body of steelpan) to try and establish the facts. There is however some general agreement that the instrument emerged in an organised form for the first time during the second half of the 1930s.

Some names that are associated with the creation of the steelpan as an instrument with notes, are Winston Spree Simon, Carlton Ziggily Constantine, Elliot-Manette and Philmore Boots  Davidson. Over the years, all the relevant parts of a conventional orchestra have been associated with the different types of steelpan instruments such as the Tenor Pan or Soprano as it is now known, the Cellos Pan, the Guitar Pan, the Bass Pan and so on. The steelpan was found to be a very effective and ,expressive instrument as it allowed more subtle and complex harmonies to be created. 

As technology (with regards to pan manufacture) improved and became more refined, cleaner and sharper notes were created from forty five gallon steel oil drums discarded by the oil companies. Today drums are specially made by "Van Leer" and other companies at great cost. 

Moreover, modern technology has come into the tuning of steelpan instruments; pan tuners now use a strobe-tuning machine instead of the old tuning fork method or as in the very early days, by ear. 

The Steelband in the early days was the main ingredient of Carnival. Each Steelband had a mas band attached to it hence the phrase 'Mass Et Pan is Carnival'. As time went on steelbands began playing different types of music other than calypso which included classical, jazz, R&B pop etc. which were picked up from the radio or from the Americans on the military base at Chaguaramas (West Trinidad). 

The growth of steelbands in Trinidad and Tobago gave rise to bands like Red Army Casablanca, Tokyo and Invaders to name but a few. Within a few months there were steelbands all over Trinidad which created great rivalry and conflicts between the hands. In the past being a panman was considered a 'badman'  due to the many conflicts between rival bands. However steelpan today is the national instrument of Trinidad and Tobago, and most people want to be associated with it. You can now get a scholarship to the United States or Canada from playing steelband music. 'Pan' to the Panman 'is like a Jumbee (spirit), it gets in your blood' as they say in Trinidad. 

By the 1950's there were over 50 steelbands in Trinidad, bands like Dixieland, Trinidad All- stars, Crossfire, Crossroads, Desperados, Northstars and from South Trinidad you had Sundowners, Southern Marines, Free French and Hatters to name but a few of the prominent and still respected hands, some of which went on to produce some of the great pannists, tuners etc, and are still doing so up to this time

In 1951 Edric Connor arranged for the Trinidad All Steel  Percussion Orchestra (TASPO) to be the first Steelband to travel to Britain to take part in the festival of Britain at the South Bank Complex. There were twelve pannists selected from over 70 steelbands across Trinidad, they were Elliot Manette (invaders), Sterling Betancourt (Crossfire), Andrew Delabastide, Beigrave Bonaparte (Southern Symphony), Theo Stevens (Free French), Anthony Williams (North Stars), Dudley Smith, (Rising Sun) Orman Patsy Haynes (Cassablanca), Philmore Boots Davidson (City Syncopators), Winston Spree Simon (Tokyo), Sonny Roach (Sun Valley) and Neville Jules (Trinidad All Stars). 

These were the pioneers of steelband music, selected to represent Trinidad and Tobago in Its first ever steelband music venture in England. This group was conducted by Lieutenant Joseph Griffith  - who incidentally was from Barbados but served with the Trinidad Police Band - and its debut was on the 26th July 1951 in an open air performance. This was certainly a day to remember when this instrument was first presented to the British public, playing some of Trinidad's best folksongs and calypsoes under the direction of Lieutenant Joseph Griffith. He conducted tunes like Return of the Mites composed by Griffith, Tennessee Waltz, Cradle Song Lullaby (Brahms), Sonny Boy (Jolson), Serenata Serenade (Toscelli) were just a few of the many tunes that started the tradition of the steelpan in England. Many of the TASPO members returned to Trinidad and then came back to England to continue playing steelpan music in England. Even if only in this smalll way, they formed what we call 'gig sides', a lot of the TASPO men were also pan tuners. In fact ten out of the twelve chosen were able to tune pans. So within a few years steelpan music started to grow in the United Kingdom, even though it was only small 'gig side' groups of 3 or 4 players in the 1950s. Many other panmen started immigrating to England, men like Gerald Forsyth, Ziggily, Selwyn Baptiste and others. 

And though they were doing other jobs, steelpan music was always going to be their first love and their destiny. In 1961 the College Boys Band "Dixieland" were creating history back in Trinidad, they were - and still are - the first and only band to win all, four sections of the music festival, Zone Final, Quarter Final, Semi-Final and Final. For this achievement they got the opportunity to come to England to perform over the Whitsun Bank Holiday weekend in 1961. Most of the players are still playing pan today in England and around Europe. Men like Miguel Baradas, Curtis Pierre and Russet Vaidez are some of the names that spring to mind. They were the first steelband to travel throughout Europe and to Africa from England, organised by the great impresario of mas pan and dance -Sonny Blacks. 

Pepe Francis, also arrived in England in 1961 to study. However coming from a steelband background he found himself visiting all the places that steelbands like Dixieland and other small sides were playing. He joined the British Army in 1961 but  still travelled to London every weekend to listen to, or be involved in steelpan. Some of the popular haunts in London where steelpan would be played on Friday nights, Saturday nights and Sunday lunchtimes were The Albany Pub, The Colhern Pub, Furlong Road Pub and the Crucible Nightclub. 

The first steelband to participate in Carnival was Nostalgia Steel Orchestra. By 1969 there were more bands starting to emerge; Melody Makers, Blue Notes and Bay 57 which Len Boogsie Sharp was part of when be was in England. 

In 1969 Islington Green School started the first steelband in a school under the guidance and teaching of Gerald Forsythe. That paved the way for a number of Inner London Education Authority (ILEA) Schools to start up steelpan classes in schools and by 1975 there were over fifty schools. By then Gerald Forsythe and Frank Rollock had formed the Pan Teachers Association, which were given recognition by the Greater London Council (GLC) in 1975. In 1978 Gerald Forsythe was appointed steelband organiser for schools, with an office in GLC headquarters at Waterloo near the South Bank. There he provided teaching jobs for a number of panmen to teach in these schools. By 1990 Gerald had one hundred and sixty schools with steelpan as part of their curriculum. Some achievement considering that in Trinidad the birthplace of steelpan, it was not yet considered to be a subject in schools. 

While all this was happening steelbands were growing in London, Coventry and Leeds under Arthur France, Manchester, Liverpool and Huddersfield. The major bands were in London. By 1971 Metronomes and Ebony were competing for supremacy both in music and costume on the road for carnival. The first ever Panorama competition was held in 1978, which was won by Paddingron Youth. This band was started in 1974 along with London All Stars led by Frank Rollock. In 1976 Lambeth Youth Led by Ricky Decarios appeared, they are now known as Southside Harmonics led by John Foster. The Mangrove was always an institution in North Kensington, in so much that Mangrove Association and the All Saints Road attracted Trinidadians and people from all over the Caribbean islands. This was an association run by Frank Critchiow so it was no surprise to see the Mangrove Steelband rise up from a small, 'pan round neck' steelband to be one of the biggest sleelbands in England under the leadership of Clive 'Mashup' Philip. 

These were the bands that were carrying on the tradition of steelpan music in England. Similar to its birthplace Trinidad, steelbands developed musical pride and so every year the players of the bands look forward to London's Notting Hill Carnival and in particular the National Panorama Competition. It's the one thing that kept and still keeps steelbands together. It has caused new steelbands to be formed, bands like Stardust led by Randolph Baptiste; Glissando led by Bertram Parris; Pantonic Steelband led by Ezekiel (Biggs) Yearwood and Raymond Joseph. At the same time there was a band from Birmingham by the name of Maestros Steel Orchestra, Orchestrated by Roy Jacobs. This band started in Cannon Hill Art Centre, Edgbaston, Birmingham, in 1975. Some three years on Phase One Steel Orchestra was formed, led by Victor Phillips in Coventry. One of the youngest bands to be formed in the late 1980's was Eclipse Steel Orchestra led by Dennis Osborne and at that time the steelband list of names present in the UK were: Paddington Youth Steelband, Metronomes Steetband, Ebony Steelband, Mangrove Steelband, London Alt Stars, Lambeth Youth Steel Orchestra, Maestro's Steel Orchestra, Glissando Steel Orchestra and Nostalgia Steetband a traditional 'pan around the neck' band led by Sterling Bettancourt of  TASPO -  the grandfather of steelbands in Engiand.

www.thecarnival.tv

3 settembre 2002