‘Curtain call’ for beloved Sir Gallon

Trevor Chase, a talented calypsonian and songwriter, who found joy in kaiso and shared it with audiences of the House of Soca Calypso Tent for more than a decade, has died.

Tent manager, Sharon Carew-White confirmed that Chase, age 74, passed away at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital this morning after he lost his battle with cancer.

Popularly known by his sobriquet Sir Gallon, Chase was known for his witty and humorous lyrics.

Describing Sir Gallon as the glue of House of Soca, Carew-White recalled that similar to his personality, his songs were always light-hearted and humorous, but never mean-spirited,

“He has been like the godfather of the tent. Even though he was a senior member in terms of age, he was one of those that kept the dressing room alive.

“It was his humour and wit and the fact that he could relate to both the young and the old that kept the glue between the tent and that made him a perfect fit for the organisation. . . . And even though he was ailing nobody knew he was suffering because he would always have a smile,
he would always have something positive to say.

“If Gallon was upset it was for five minutes, jokes coming after that. It is a real sad one for us, it is a real blow,” Carew-White told Barbados TODAY.

Carew-White maintained that although Gallon had been ill for some time, that never stopped or slowed down his love for the calypso artform. So much so, that even during one of his periods of hospitalisation last year, Gallon was optimistic about his return to the tent post-Covid and was already working on material.

“Last year we visited him in the hospital and we knew at the time he was ailing, but the first thing he said to me was ‘ge me Blackett number, I got a song. When this Covid done I got a song’. He was always one that was ready first when we would do our auditions in January.

“Gallon would be the person who tells you I got my songs ready, I actually got three or four let me let you hear them. He would always arrange with either Andy Williams or Andre Blackett and he knew what he wanted.

“In terms of when you see Gallon step out on stage in his costume, he is immaculately dressed, his songs got some sort of wit and humour and that was him. He was one that believed in structure, in organisation, he believed in being punctual and his traits were things that you could emulate and pass on to the younger artistes and they respected him for that,” Carew-White stressed as she extended condolences to his family.

Chase is survived by his wife Kim, his children and other relatives. (KC)