Ban on reggae irks promoters

- File photo

Byron Lee and the Dragonaires

Balford Henry, Staff Reporter

THE GOVERNMENT of Barbados' ban on reggae concerts taking place at their national venues for 18 months, starting last May, has been described as 'discriminatory' by one of that island's leading show promoters.

"We've never had a murder at a reggae show, but we've had murders at calypso shows and there is no such ban against calypso. So it's total discrimination against reggae music," said Roger 'Freddie' Hill, the leading promoter of live shows in Barbados.

"The only time that reggae is not played more than calypso in Barbados is during 'Crop Over' (the annual Bajan calypso carnival). The radio stations that attract 18- to 35-year-olds are into reggae," Hill said, suggesting an organised effort to reduce the influence of reggae music on the island.

Hill said the ban has been affecting the staging of reggae shows in Barbados since May. The main reason being that the cost of some reggae acts is so high, that only major venues like the National Stadium (one of the banned places) can attract the numbers which would make it profitable.

However, one show it didn't stop was the annual Beres Hammond concert in Bridgetown, recently, although this time it had to be held in a 7,000-capacity gymnasium, compared to the 20,000-25,000-capacity National Stadium.

"I want to bring more of the very popular reggae artistes, but with the reduced capacity, we would have to charge so much money, most people wouldn't be able to afford it," Hill said.

He said the ban was discriminatory, but that it was triggered by continuous use of drugs at the shows. According to Hill, vulgarity was not the problem. "There is more vulgarity on stage at the calypso shows."

"The discrimination is coming from one or two people in the Government and some policemen who don't like working at these shows, because of the weed smoking," he said.

However, Hill believes things could be normalised after the current 18-month ban: "Because so much of the economy benefits from these shows, including the shops and the taxis."

In the meantime, Hill's local associate, Jerome Hamilton of Headline Entertainment, says the continued demand for reggae acts like Beres Hammond shows that reggae is still in demand among Bajan showgoers. But for the time being, Hamilton said, the "big budget" shows (featuring acts like Beenie Man, Capleton and Bounty Killer) will have to be put on hold.

There are three main show venues in Barbados which are all Government controlled - the National Stadium, The National Gymnasium and the National Netball Stadium.

The Barbadian media is not in full agreement with the decision. For example, The Nation called for a rethinking of the position and cited "growing intolerance and right-wing perspective" for the move.

The Barbadian Government authorities have said the ban was enforced because of the use of drugs and was prompted by evidence from the police force and the Attorney General that people were using reggae concerts to sell illegal drugs.