2007 BAS 9th Annual Awards - United Kingdom Steelbands

For more Headlines click here

BAS 9th Annual Awards

Lifetime Achievement Award Goes to Earl Rodney

News Release

United Kingdom - The 9th Annual British Association of Steel bands’ Awards was hosted at the Holiday Inn, Bloomsbury on the 1^st December 2007. The Awards was established to celebrate the successes of bands and individuals in activities and competitions produced by the Association. In recognising excellence, BAS honour the wider and more sustained contributions of individuals, groups and organisations to the promotion of steel pan music, culture and heritage throughout the United Kingdom. This special evening was an opportunity for BAS to join with friends and family to remember the past, celebrate the present and look forward with optimism and togetherness to the future.

T&T High Commissioner presents Hall of Fame to Toussaint Clarke for Earl Rodney

2007 has seen the Association achieve a number of significant milestones in their growth and development in bringing steel pan and the Carnival culture of the West Indies into the heart of the world’s most diverse city. This event has evolved from its humble beginnings in the Tabernacle, Ladbroke Grove in 1998 to become an iconic event in the UK community calendar.

It was an evening filled with honouring individuals and groups for their outstanding performances as well as their unselfish dedication coupled with undying drive and determination in the promotion, and development of the steel pan art form.

Guests on the evening included the High Commissioner of Trinidad & Tobago, HE Glenda Morien-Phillips, Ashton Forde, T&T Cultural attaché, Directors of the London Notting Carnival Limited, Executives from the Notting Hill Carnival Arts Arenas, Arthur France OBE whose most lasting achievement is his promotion of the first ever Leeds West Indian Carnival in 1967.

BAS particularly thank the following for their support of their work and without whom BAS would have found their journey just that bit more challenging

2007 National Panorama Champions Ebony Steel Orchestra

Greater London Authority/Mayor’s Office, Royal Parks, Arts Council of England, Trinidad and Tobago High Commission, Executive Committee of Carnival Arts, Grace Kennedy UK, Fink Unlimited, City of Westminster, Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, Metropolitan, Parks and British Transport Police Services, St John’s and London Ambulance Services, London Notting Hill Carnival Ltd.

Entertainment was supplied by Engine Room featuring Carlene Etienne, Kyron Akal (BAS Pan Explosion Champion soloists) and Robert Clarke. DJ Sugar K of (Unique FM) dished out some rather catchy numbers that had everyone on the dance floor until the wee hours of the morning. Martin Jay, the Prince of Soca, who has been involved in this awards event from its early stages, was the M.C. on the night.

BAS continues their sterling work in promoting this wonderful art form. It is without a doubt the perfect machinery for bringing together the UK’s diverse population and for reflecting and promoting the culture of Trinidad and Tobago.

Click to see BAS Awards in Pictures

BAS 9^th Annual Awards Recipents

Anniversary Awards

15^th Anniversary – Comets Steel Orchestra

21^st Anniversary – British Association of Static Sounds Systems

40^TH Anniversary – Bristol Carnival

40^th Anniversary – Leeds West Indian Carnival

2007 Competition Awards

Junior Panorama Champions – Croydon Steel Orchestra

Jouvert Bomb Competition – Ebony Steel Band

National Panorama Champions – Ebony Steel Band

Grace Foods Best Steel Band on the Road - Ebony Steel Band