The Ins & Outs of Barbados 2022

24 Steel Pan Steel Pan The Steel Band was introduced to Barbados in 1945 by the late Albert ‘Shilling’ Grannum who had been exposed to it while serving in Trinidad with the South Caribbean Regiment during World War II. the 1960s, although it has never reached the heights found in Trinidad, and actually declined during the 1970s. Steel Band or Steel Pan has again been on the rise in Barbados, encouraged by involvement in the Crop Over Festival, where for a few years there has been an annual competition called “Pang-a-lang”. During the 1990s the National Cultural Foundation and the University of the West Indies produced a number of pan workshops which resulted in significantly more people playing. Several secondary schools have developed talented school steel bands. Taken from The A-Z of Barbados Heritage, Third Edition. Published by Miller Publishing and available from BarbadosBooks.com and bookshops islandwide. With more enthusiasm than musical talent, Grannum could do little to promote the art, which progressed slowly, although there were a few bands established before he died. Ironically, when the Trinidad All Steel Percussion Orchestra (TASPO) performed at the Festival of Britain in July 1951, taking London by storm, its director was a Barbadian, Lieutenant Joseph N. Griffith, then bandmaster of the St. Lucia Police Band. Trinidadian pan-tuner Randolph Simmonds, otherwise known as “Croppy”, subsequently came to Barbados where he was associated with the All Stars Steel Band, transforming it to the top local band. By this time, sponsorship from soft drink companies and friendly rivalry through competitions had further developed the steel pan until it reached a peak in Thursday night and Sunday buffet lunch at Southern Palms Hotel has featured the Barbados Steel Orchestra for nearly 50 years. Photo: Mary Hobson Youth Pan Project