Dennis Brown
Mel Cooke, Freelance Writer
WESTERN BUREAU:
EVEN IN death, Dennis Brown is 'Inseparable' from Heineken Startime.
The Crown Prince of Reggae was all over the Asylum Nightclub in New Kingston on Wednesday night, flashing a dazzling smile from a large screen, singing with Karen Smith, Gregory Isaacs and John Holt, seeming to give a posthumous seal of approval to the proceedings.
Those proceedings were the launch of Heineken Startime's 'Groovin' (The Dance Party)', which will be held at Mas Camp on Oxford Road, St. Andrew, on February 1.
It is no coincidence that the party is set for what would be Dennis Brown's 46th birthday. The singer died in 1999.
Presented by The Quartet of Startime producers Keith Brown and Mikey Barnett, along with Maurice Foster and Wayne Lewis, Groovin' will feature Skyy Disco with Squeeze, Bop 'Alanzo Hawk' Campbell, Gladdy of the Wild Bunch Disco and Stokey Love from Rapture Disco and KOOL 97 FM.
With two half-hour segments 'livicated' wholly and solely to Dennis Brown's music, Groovin' goes international with selectors Tsutomu 'Super B' Tanaka from Japan and 'Rankin Miss P' from BBC Radio One.
The Dennis Brown thrust of the dance party does not stop with the music, since part proceeds from the event will go towards his alma mater, Central Branch All-Age, in the form of scholarships for students there.
As attorney-at-law Lance Cowan from the Dennis Brown Trust explained, this will help to solidify the work that the Trust has already done, since nine Central Branch students have already benefited from similar scholarships over the past two years.
Part proceeds from the first Groovin, held on October 5 last year also at Mas Camp, went to the Maxfield Park Children's Home.
If the exultant response to Dennis Brown's hits, especially Should I, Revolution and Promised Land, by persons present at the launch is any indication of what will happen at the Mas Camp on February 1, it should be a memorable affair.
Nicole Samuels, brand manager for Heineken, placed Groovin' in Startime perspective, saying that the company had mandated the concert promoters to create an event which would reach out to the younger audience, as well as the more mature.
Groovin' was the answer, she said.
A special feature of the launch was the presentation of Dennis Brown and Startime shirts from the Cooyah organisation. Keith Brown informed the audience that Cooyah would be developing a Startime fashion line for the concert series' 15th anniversary.
Models Keisha, Daniel, Judy and Churchill presented an excellent sampling of the fashionable shirts.
Admission to Groovin' at Mas Camp on February 1 is $400 pre-sold and $500 at the gate, with tickets available beforehand at Mas Camp, Lloyd Brown's Esso, Mall Pharmacy, Portmore Mall Pharmacy, Derrick Harriott, Icowal Texaco, SuperPlus, Pavilion Mall, Ht Pot Restaurant and Digicel in Tropical and Sovereign Plazas.
See related story in THE STAR on Monday.
