Charlestown, Nevis-There were loud cheers late on Saturday night-27th July, as the grand announcement of the seven finalists, to compete against King Dis and Dat, in the Culturama 45 Calypso Monarch finals, was made. There were particular loud cheers as the name KING IRWIN was announced.
No surprise, as one of his songs JOHNNY WINE is resonating loudly with young and old calypso lovers and is easily one of the most popular songs for Culturama 45. Add to that, that for a man who was more touted for his singing voice than for his dance moves, his WINING on stage, is also taking the crowd by storm.
King Irwin remember, has the distinction of being the first-ever Junior Calypso King of Nevis—that was before Culturama came on the scene, mark you. He went on to rank as one of the top calypsonians on Nevis, until about 1979 and then took a self-imposed sabbatical-more for religious reasons.
Whatever transpired since then, saw him making the decision to come back into the calypso arena, a few years ago. Since his return, he has made waves, not only at Culturama, but also during the St. Kitts carnival as well. He has been his own worst enemy, however, as most of the times that he failed to place higher on the judges’ scoresheets, was a simple case of him BUSSING.
The average human being may have given up and called it quits and he was encouraged to do so. But not Irwin!
This year, he is not only holding his own on stage, but he has not BUSSED —yet (fingers crossed). His most recent release WE NEED A HEALING IN OUR LAND, although new to the calypso lovers, went down very well at the semifinals and is lyrically sound.
Irwin is quietly confident that this may well be his year.
And just in case you are wondering—should he win, would he be able to come up with two good songs for the Anguilla Leewards competition, at short notice?
Well, you may not know, but his writing ability has been likened to other renowned writers such as his brother, Sandopey and Ginger.
No sweat—King Irwin is ready to WINE!