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How entertainment and sports personalities with Bajan roots are blazing the trail in the UK

OFTEN DUBBED ‘Little England’ because of its former affiliation to the British Empire, Barbados prides itself on what is considered the best literacy rate in the English speaking Caribbean. However, what Barbados is less boastful about is the

numerous talent that it has spawned.

In 2000, Bajan sprinter Obadele Thompson became the first individual Olympic medallist from the island when he won a bronze medal in the 100m, whilst award-winning singer, Rihanna remains one of its most instantly recognisable exports.

What is probably well less known are the Bajans in the world of entertainment, sport, media and the arts residing in the UK.

Popular radio presenter Wayne Rollins, known affectionately as Rollo of London-based radio station Choice FM, was born to Bajan parents and believes that the limited knowledge of well known Bajans in the UK is mainly down to the assumption that there was only one island in the Caribbean.

“Jamaica was the dominant force of all the Caribbean islands in regards to entertainment when I was growing up. All of the big names seemed to come from Jamaica such as Bob Marley, Gregory Issacs and Jacob Miller “As a result, there was this assumption that black people were either from Africa or Jamaica. However, as time has gone on a lot of people recognise that there are other islands in the West Indies producing world-class talent. This is helped when you get singers like Rihanna and Shontelle, both from Barbados, flying the flag,” Rollins said.

The Voice has complied a list of successful Bajans flying the flag in the UK.

DAVID HAREWOOD

THE BIRMINGHAM-born actor rose to prominence following a starring role in British television series, Baby Father. The weekly BBC programme, about the exploits of a quartet of black men and their struggles with the opposite sex, garnered excellent reviews and made him one of the UK’s most foremost actors. He went onto secure roles on stage (Othello) and across

British terrestrial television (Robin Hood) before landing a coveted role in US box office hit, Blood Diamond. He is currently gearing up for his role as Nelson Mandela in BBC drama, Mrs Mandela.

QUINCY

POPULAR EAST London comedian, Quincy is famed for making jokes about his Bajan heritage, often impersonating both

parents from the island. As well as performing at all the major UK comedy clubs, Quincy also tours in large-scale venues all over the UK as a stand-up and in sketch shows at the Hackney Empire and The Oval theatre. With a list of credits that include presenter, writer, DJ, actor and compere, this single father-of - three has ambitions of buying and investing in his own club to pass onto his children.

STAN COLLYMORE

FOOTBALLER STAN Collymore was the one-time British transfer record holder following a £8.5million move from Nottingham Forest to Liverpool in 1995. At the height of his career he had a scoring ratio of one goal every other game.Collymore helped

Liverpool to secure third place in the Premier League, but after two seasons at Anfield the striker was sold to Aston Villa in 1997 for £7 million, making him Liverpool’s most expensive sale and Villa’s most expensive signing. He is currently a

broadcaster on BBC Five Live.

WAYNE ROLLINS

RADIO DJ, Wayne Rollins is probably more commonly known for his escapades on the comedy circuit as the outspoken Bajan entertainer, Dibbi. The female caricature who Wayne describes as a ‘dancehall Bajan queen’ is best known for her exaggerated

use of the unique Bajan dialect and equally so for her garish outfits and blonde wig. Wayne also presents a daily lunchtime show on London-based station Choice FM where he is referred to as Rollo.

HEATHER SMALL

HEATHER SMALL shot to fame as the lead singer of British group M People. The Manchester-based group went onto sell over 10 million albums worldwide with hits such as Moving On Up and Search For The Hero; their success heavily attributed to

Small’s distinctive voice. In 2000, she released her first solo album, Proud and a single of the same name which has gone onto achieve international success and become the anthem for the British Olympic team. It has also been reported that when

Oprah Winfrey wanted a song to sum up the work she’d achieved over her 20-year career she got in touch with Small and Proud became the theme tune to her popular talk show. She was also a contestant on the sixth series of the BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing.

ASHLEY COLE

ASHLEY COLE started his career as a teenager playing for his favourite team, Arsenal. He made his debut for Arsenal’s first team in 1999 and went on to win the Premier League with the north London team twice. He made his debut for England against Albania in 2001 and now has 71 international caps to his name. Many are of the opinion that Cole could become the most capped black player to represent England. He married Girls Aloud beauty Cheryl in 2004 and made a controversial move to Chelsea

in 2006.

ALISON HINDS

CONTRARY TO popular belief, soca queen Alison Hinds was born in England, but when her parents separated, Alison and her mother moved back to Barbados. Hinds’ first hit came in 1996 when her soca band, Square One, won the coveted road march in

Barbados’ Crop Over festival for their song, Ragamuffin. The next year she repeated this feat by winning her second road

march with hit, Twister, becoming the first woman to ever win these titles in Barbados. Alison Hinds and Square One continued to dominate the charts in the Caribbean with single, Faluma, which remained the top song in the Caribbean for a year – it

topped the charts of Guatemala for 49 weeks! Hinds left Square one in 2004 and the group disbanded soon after, but Hinds

still remains the undisputed ‘Queen of Soca’

NIGEL BENN

OFTEN REFERRED to as the ‘Dark Destroyer,’ Nigel Benn has been the proud recipient of both world middleweight and super middleweight titles and boasts an enviable streak of 22 consecutive knockouts and a fighting record of 41 wins and one loss as an amateur boxer. In 1991, he beat Robbie Simms, by a knockout in round seven and then embarked on another winning streak,

which would reach ten wins in a row. The cousin of footballer Paul Ince, Nigel retired from boxing and became a DJ. He later

appeared in the first series of the ITV reality TV show I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!

DES’REE

SINGER DES’REE’S interest in pursuing a musical career followed a three-year trip to Barbados with her family at the age of fourteen. She rose to prominence in the 90s with hits Feel So High, Life and You Gotta Be. The latter gained the artist a

top 5 hit in the American billboard charts and was the most played video on music channel, VH1. Following the single’s success,Des’ree’s second album, I Ain’t Movin’ sold in excess of 1.6 million copies worldwide. Her success lead to an American tour with Seal in 1995. The following year, she contributed the song Kissing You to the soundtrack of the hit film Romeo and Juliet.

MARK MORRISON

BRITISH R’N’B singer, Mark Morrison achieved major success in the 90s when he released is now multi-platinum single, Return of The Mack. This infamous song became a top ten hit across Europe and when it was released in the U.S. the following

year it spent 25 weeks in the Billboard charts. It was the first single by a solo black British male artist to reach the number one spot in the UK singles chart in the 90s. His album of the same name reached an impressive number four in the UK

chart. These accomplishments later earned Morrison a MOBO award for Best R’n’B act and many highly acclaimed nominations including one for a Mercury Prize and four at the BRIT awards. He was also the only British artist to be signed to American record label, Death Row Records.

SHAZNAY LEWIS

SHAZNAY LEWIS was one of the founding members of All Saints, one of the most successful British pop groups of the 90s. The quartet achieved nine top ten singles, five of which went to number one, two platinum albums, two gold albums and clocked up record sales in excess of 10 million worldwide. Shaznay was the most active songwriter of the group and was responsible for

writing most of their hits and in 2001 was awarded with a prestigious Ivor Novello Award for her song writing skills. Prior to embarking on a career in singing, Shaznay was a keen footballer and played three matches with the successful Arsenal ladies’ football team captain.

Tell Us What You Think.

Published: 18 May 2009
Issue: 1372

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