Mel Cooke, Freelance Writer

Beres Hammond (left) celebrates with Lymie Murray, whose birthday celebration was held at the Village Café, Barbican Road, on Tuesday night. - Winston Sill/Freelance Photographer

At one point, Lymie Murray's birthday, or earthday, celebration at the Village Café looked like a mini roll call of singers.

There were screams at the mention of Beres Hammond and more for snippets of Double Trouble and Rockaway, the band for Tuesday night struggling with the music, but getting it passably well for the moment. With the microphone being passed from one singer to another, Da'Ville stood tall and went high into Always on My Mind and Jimmy Riley made it Rougher Yet to a chorus of cheers, while Anthony Cruz made the Barbican Road, St. Andrew, café Half-Way Tree, for a moment.

And before them, Tarrus Riley went lover's rock with Stay With You, to a very warm reception, the out and out rockers warning to "be aware, because de shotta dem strap" taking the house down.

Living and loving life

However, it was clear that it was Murray's day, the singer coming after the poetry and rap cross of Brition Xo and Etana's a cappella advice to "live and love life". It was she who brought Murray on stage to receive his 'happy birthday' song in person and he was left to hail Selassie and deliver at some length.

There was gesture to go with the song, Murray's right hand rising as he sang 'I got a burning desire/to light up a big bonfire blazing higher', before rocking into Bless It and Set It. He hailed Bobby Digital before doing Break Free, and had some Trafigura advice before Blood Higher Blood. "Thirty-one million? We want some a it too," Murray said.

A woman from the audience rocked close with Murray as he went into the lover's side of things, ad libbing "all the ladies in the Village Café tonight is there anything this Rastaman can do for you". Spontaneous lyricism and the occasional rise into a fine falsetto marked Murray's presentation, the audience erupting for the first line of Only Conversation, the band duly restarting the song.

And after the singers honoured their colleague, Murray in turn honoured Joseph 'Culture' Hill with an extended version of I'm Not Ashamed, Bongo Herman carrying the night into percussion territory as the drums that played for Gyptian and Richie Spice echoing over the café, the full parking lot and the empty road beyond.