All Stars take North zone lead

Trinidad Express

NEAL and Massy Trinidad All Stars continued where it left off at last Sunday’s national Panorama preliminaries and beat all other finalists in the North Panorama finals on Thursday night at the Queen’s Park Savannah.

And as if that was not enough, the Duke Street-based the band also won the second competition of the night which required the eight finalists to play one of the Mighty Sparrow’s hits of the past.

There was a similar competition for Pan Around the Neck bands which was won by Woodbrook Playboyz playing a Len “Boogsie’’ Sharpe’s arrangement of “Drunk and Disorderly’’. The band scored 250 points. The only other Pan Around the Neck band to play was Harlem Syncopators which scored 201 playing Gerard “Bellies’’ Charles’ arrangement of Sparrow’s “Slave.’’

Thursday night’s competitions began with a parade of all the flag-wavers of the finalists. The show began at 7.45 p.m. After the two Pan Around the Neck bands played there was a demonstration of limbo, tamboo bamboo and stick-fighting by the North West Laventille Cultural Movement. The group also paid tribute to the Mighty Sparrow who was presented with a commemorative plaque by Keith Byer, president of the northern region of Pan Trinbago which organised the contest. Former Finance Minister Brian Kuei Tung was also presented with a plaque as a sign of appreciation for his long service to the pan fraternity.

The competition ended at 2 a.m. but it could have been earlier. Delays continue to plague pan competition and Thursday night was no different. Bands continue to take a very long time to set up on stage for one reason or another. Like the first day of the conventional pan preliminaries, the crowds stayed away. In the North Stand there were about 200 persons while the Grand Stand had no more than 1,500.

Whether the large crowd at last Sunday’s pan preliminaries will be repeated at tomorrow’s national Panorama semi-finals and the Pan In the 21st Century competition at the same venue remains to be seen. The competitions involving the best steelbands in the world is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. Entrance fee is $50 in either stand.

The following are the results of the two competitions held on Thursday night:

North Zone finals

1. Neal and Massy All Stars: “Rain Melody’’—Leon “Smooth’’ Edwards—282;

2. Phase II Pan Groove: “Freedom’’ —Len “Boogsie’’ Sharpe—278

3. WITCO Desperadoes: “Horn’’—Clive Bradley—277

4. BP Renegades: “Sound of the Ghost’’ —Jit Samaroo—270

5. BWIA Invaders: “Stranger’’—Ken “Professor’’ Philmore—270

6. PCS Starlift: “Fire and Steel’’—Anise “Haffers’’ Hadeed—261

7. Merrytones: “Rain Melody’’ —Kendal Lewis—258

8. Carib Tokyo: “Stranger’’ —Beverly Griffith—250

Results of the competition playing a Sparrow tune

1. Neal and Massy All Stars: “Doh Back Back’’ —Leon “Smooth’’ Edwards—274

2. Phase II Pan Groove: “Drunk and Disorderly’’—Len “Boogsie’’ Sharpe—267

3. BWIA Invaders: “Congo Man’’— Ken “Professor’’ Philmore—254

4. PCS Starlift: “Bad John’’—Anise “Haffers’’ Hadeed—248

5. WITCO Desperadoes: “Horn’’—Beverly Griffith—243

6. BP Renegades: “Memories’’—Jit Samaroo—240

7. Carib Tokyo: “Keep the City Clean’’—Beverly Griffith—239

8. Merrytones: “Drunk and Disorderly’’ —Kendal Lewis—236