'Rebel Tour' tried on three rhythms

Mel Cooke, Gleaner Writer

Errol Lee and the Bare Essentials went into Harry J Studio on Roosevelt Avenue (now Herb McKenley Drive) in St Andrew as a unit to record Rebel Tour, armed with the lyrics and ready to work out the music.

Calypso was not the first choice, as before settling on the beat that took Rebel Tour to the boundaries of where cricket is revered, the band tried out two other genres.

"We had played a few things in calypso, but we never considered ourselves a soca band or a band that would record soca," Lee said.

So they tried the song first on a rocksteady rhythm and then "we did what they would call hip-hop now. We called it funky". Then "somebody said try soca". They did and, Lee said, "the studio came alive".

The horns were laid by Dean Fraser, Nambo Robinson and David Madden and, by the time they got to Harry J "they just went to sea. The whole thing gelled".

The other versions of Rebel Tour were never recorded. "They never went beyond that initial stage. These were just like the pages you crumple up and put in the bin when you write a book," Lee said.

Test press

From the studio, Lee went straight to Sonic Sounds, which ended up distributing the song.

Rebel Tour was appreciated and from there Lee went to the Jamaica Broadcasting Corporation, where the Radio 2 FM service had a calypso segment, with his test press of the song. He had only one copy, so Lee says he hung around to keep tabs on it.

"After he (the announcer) played it the phone lines lit up," Lee said. Among the callers was Tommy Cowan, who said "I like that song by Sparrow. Play it again".

Rebel Tour was played about three times that Saturday morning. Within a week, the first set of records was released commercially and Rebel Tour hit.

"Children were singing it. We were playing at barbecues. Everybody wanted us," Lee said. "That was when people knew I had a band."

There was overseas media attention as well.

"I received interviews from Australia and New Zealand. BBC came and filmed me. They thought the song was awesome, capturing the mood of West Indians".

Peaked at No. 2

Rebel Tour duly shot up the Jamaican music charts, but did not get to number one.

"It went to number two. The week it was supposed to go to number one they released Buffalo Soldiers. I say if someone must stop me let it be Bob. We stayed at number two for about six weeks," Lee said.

It also led to the band breaking into the soca performance market. Rebel Tour was released when Byron Lee and the Dragonaires were at Carnival in Trinidad, and when they were returned they were slated for Orange Carnival. The organisers said that the band had to play Rebel Tour and Byron Lee told them to call Errol Lee and the Bare Essentials.

"That was our first soca set, guests on Orange Carnival," Errol Lee said.

They followed up with the recordings Umbayaya and then Soca With Me.

"That meant there was a second band in Jamaica that played soca," Lee said. They played the Sunsplash Beach Party in 1983 on Cornwall Beach. "That was something. We dressed up as cricketers, bats and gloves and all that. When we ran out the place just went wild," Lee said.

He ended up meeting Lawrence Rowe many years after the release of Rebel Tour and says "it never turned into anything personal. We were kind of introduced and we shook hands. We did not get into any philosophical discussion".