Musicians reflect on Lord Radio’s legacy

By Kimberley Cummins

The death of Lord Radio, one of the outstanding builders of Barbados’ music industry, has led to an outpouring of condolences from fellow musicians, the wider entertainment world and the general public.

The 83-year-old, whose real name is Oliver St. Claire Broome, died early this morning at his home in Washington Avenue, Black Rock, St. Michael. Lord Radio suffered from diabetes and over the years had become visually impaired. One of his legs was amputated several years ago and his son Arthur Broome, told Barbados TODAY that last year he underwent surgery to have his remaining leg amputated. However, Broome noted that in spite of this setback, his father was still in good spirits and peaceful in his final days.

Broome, who credits his father as instrumental to him also becoming a musician, described the elder Broome as a strict and serious dad who loved all eight of his children: Leonard Griffith, Broome, Angela Fenty, Indira Browne, Garfield Bradshaw, and Oliver Clarke as well as Patricia Hinds-Brathwaite and Sandra Harris who are both deceased.

“I would say he was a good father. From a very young age I used to see so much activity going on in our house, musicians were always coming and going and that’s when I began to fidget with his equipment. He saw that I had an interest and he ended up sending me to guitar lessons. Me and my brother Leonard then got together and we made up the Melody Makers. In 1977 we became the first-ever winners of the Richard Stoute Teen Talent. I later played with him [his dad] in Sophisticated Sounds. He was a serious, no play man but a good man,” Broome recalled.

With a career that spanned more than 50 years before he retired in 2011, Lord Radio spent the majority as an entertainer on the hotel circuit introducing visitors to Barbados music when it was not widely accepted. He was renowned as a master at extempo, his dapper style, vocal prowess and a work ethic second to none, such as playing in five bands on a single night.

According to several people he was also well-known for his mentorship. One of those whom he took under his wings was Cultural Ambassador, Anthony Gabby Carter, who maintained that Lord Radio’s mentorship was instrumental to his growth and development as a total artist.

“Lord Radio would take me to the cruiseliners and sing with him on evenings. He would take me into Sandy Lane, Colony Club, Coral Reef, you name it – any of those West Coast hotels. In any discipline that mentor plays a role that is so crucial that you can’t pay or replace that mentor and that’s the role that Lord Radio played for me personally and for many others,” Gabby said.

“From my very earliest stage when I was a young teenager, he took me under his wings and showed me the whole ropes in terms of how to sing and survive in the hotel industry … People like Hubert Grant and Midge Springer, all late now; Tony Grazette, there are so many of us I can’t name all, he was the father. The man who allowed us to rehearse at his place when we had no place to rehearse. The man that would come and pick us up and take us to the event.

“The man that would take us to Baxter’s Road after a gig and pay for the food and drinks for everybody. He was ‘the father’ … It hurt me that the hotel association and the Board of Tourism honoured me before Lord Radio, I think that was wrong. And he is gone now but it is not too late to honour him posthumously, and so I appeal to them to do so because he is the man who went to Canada in 1967 with the Merrymen and helped put Barbados’ name in Canada and indeed the world. So if there is a pioneer in the tourism field then let it be Lord Radio,” Gabby added.

Ten-time calypso king, Cultural Ambassador Stedson Red Plastic Bag Wiltshire while expressing his condolences to Lord Radio’s family, also reminisced about some of the guidance the singer/songwriter gave him in his career.

“I’ve always known him to be very pleasant and always gave me encouragement to keep pressing on with my work. I can hear him now with that distinctive timbre of his voice singing ‘Yellow Bird’. For all my life I’ve heard his name whenever people spoke about the builders of the music industry, which has given opportunities for many like myself. Condolences to his family, friends and other loved ones. Entertainment in Barbados has truly lost a giant. May he rest in peace and rise with the angels in glory.”

Some of Lord Radio’s hits include the kaiso “Faces” and the ballad “Yours Sincerely”. In recent years, his composition “Shirley” sung by Colin Spencer has become among Barbados’ most popular ballads.

Actor Antoine Williams, who met Lord Radio in the calypso tents as a young artist and fledging emcee and was instantly enamoured by his ability to adlib and his showmanship, wants the stories of more our Barbados’ pioneers to be archived for future generations to learn from and benefit.

“I am particularly saddened to know of the passing of one of Barbados’ cultural giants. He has certainly created a space as far as Barbados entertainment is concerned and when you look at his contributions across the Barbadian landscape we should applaud his efforts.  Even when he was not at his best in terms of his health, he was still able to share his talents. Our Barbadian landscape has to come to a point where we can [and should] archive and document the work of our own giants and Lord Radio, both on the local stage and the international stage in his entertaining our visitors to the island, has done remarkably well,” Williams stated.

Along with his children, Lord Radio leaves to mourn several grands and greatgrands. (KC)