Alton Ellis and Brent Dowe - Winston Sill/Freelance Photographer IF YOU have heard about the term 'rent-a-tile' but had no idea what it means, then you should have been at Curphy Place, Swallowfield Road, on Saturday night to see the phrase being played out.
The event, dubbed 'Tribute to the Greats 5' started out with an awards ceremony. After that, it was down to showtime.
The crowd, most of which stood on their feet when the performances were about to start, was soon listening keenly to the music of the Studio One All Stars.
As the music began to have its way with the patrons no one could keep still, especially when the first performer, Enid from the duo Keith and Enid, touched the stage.
The lady, who was clad in red, started off with a gospel piece and the cheers of approval went up. However, what brought the house her performance with the visually-impaired Roy Richards. The two combined well to do If You Didn't. Couples came together to dance this number as if it were the last one.
Richards, who stayed on stage after Enid had exited, continued the from where she had left off. He used his ever-present harmonica to good effect, especially when he did These Arms Of Mine. By this time, most persons who had been seated were standing and the singer seemed to be having the time of his life with the harmonica. With the audience on his side, Roy Richards did South Vietnam, which he said was a chart topper in 1966, before exiting.
Peter Austin of the Clarendonians was good. He too had the couples in the centre of the venue dancing up a storm with hits such as If You Won't See Me, Shubby Dubby I Love You and others. He paid tribute to his best friend, Delroy Wilson, by performing Somebody's Stolen My Girl, which had more persons renting tiles.
The 'Lone Ranger' also drew the same reaction for his short stint, as did Brent Dowe who did songs such as Oh What Sweet Sensation, which had the crowd cheering and singing.
Derrick Harriott's cameo performance was enough to draw laughter as he spoke about losing his good friend to his best friend. He encouraged both men and women in the venue to grab on tight to their lovers, since they could lose them to neighbours if they were not careful.
While all the artistes had patrons renting tiles, it was Alton Ellis who had the most telling effect at "Tribute to the Greats 5". The singer, who closed the event, had numerous couples locked together in tight embrace. He started off with You Make Me So Very Happy and soon almost everyone in the venue was rocking and cheering. The singer's second piece, Aint That Loving You, was enough to draw persons closer to the stage. By the time he had done his third selection, Girl I Got A Date, one patron who could not control himself was on the stage dancing away, much to the delight of the crowd. Another continued in front of the stage shortly after and drew an equal response from the crowd.
Mr. Ellis was called up for an encore and he did hits such as Willow Tree, which had the crowd in his corner. He ended his set with I'm Still In Love With You.
Earlier in the night, several persons who had played their part in the Jamaican music industry were presented with awards. Among them were Lee 'Scratch' Perry, Mortimer Planno, Derrick Harriott, Delroy Wilson (posthumous) and others.
