Individual results

Interviewee: Ray King (Vibert Cornwall)

0:06 Ray King entertainer. Real name Vibert Cornwall. St Vincent.
0:20 1961 came to Britain.
0:29 West Indies Calypsonians but liked Sam Cooke, Nat King Cole, Fats Dominoes. Britain was Tommy Steele.
1:04 American sounds and strong culture of WI music. Reggae not around. Everyone into beat. Blue beat into Reggae.
1:48 Bluebeat to Rocksteady/dung beat to Reggae. Ska in between. Played with Laurel Aiken. God father of Ska. Asked him when it started. Guitarists couldn't play traditional beat. New beat released on record and took off.
3:09 Heard of Laurel called Lord Aiken. From Cuba.
3:45 Performers travelled in Caribbean in festival time. Louise Bennet. Carnival season. St Vincent & Trinidad carnival. Steel band. Calypsonians from Jamaica.
5:17 Pokumania originated in St Vincent. African lady. Spiritual Baptists. Adoptian. Illegal group. Arrested in Trinidad. Islands close ties. Underground churches. Less spiritual churches than now.
8:00 Toot & Maytals sound like Pokummania. Africans sing the same. Done at night in open air. Trinidadians had shango drums from Nigeria. Not sure when Jamaica pick it up. Caribbean riot. Travelled from Island to Island.
10:47 Pokumania looked down on. George 5th made them legal.
11:36 Pokumania part Jazz and blues also an influence. Sunday mornings put on Blues and spiritual hymns. Barbados into blues but not main source. Calypso. More middle class now spiritual Baptists.
12:36 the roots of calypso from passing on info about slave masters. Calypsonians called relaters. Relationship between masters and slaves. Broke in in Jamaica. Invented Gibberage/calypso. Beat drums. Rhyme. Double meaning. End of calypso a turn. White people didn't understand the shiftin. Name for the master. Spread news. Warned off. Different for different islands.
17:30 Trinidad recording it and mixing it with steel bands. Influenced where music today.
17:53 first competition at school sang On top of old smokey. Went on to Lyrictator in Kingstown. Sang calypso by sparrow, Kitchener. Sang bed bug. Sang Irish song sweet sixteen. Had a lot of Catholics. Irish had an influence.
18:59 Family musicians. Brother was the first person in Caribbean to receive MBE in music. Professor Ronald. Household was music. Grandmother was Salvationist. Played drums. Father could play any instrument. All could sing.
20:10 First came to Aylesbury. Northampton. Sent to study but wanted to do music. Told parents he registered in college. Performed Sachmo bit. Big in Caribbean. Slow boat to China. Emile Ford popular here. Moved here because more clubs than Northampton.
*Sang at the Pilot. First black singer. Free and easy. Jamaican took him to the pilot. Anxious to see him. Bee Bop Slow boat to China. Crowd went wild. Did a show. Asked him to come back. Stan managed him. Working mens clubs in Coventry. Asked to join a band. Suzi King and the Kingsize kings. Won every competition he went in. 1965
23:54 Prizes. Taught by parents to take over. Singer is the main man. Have to lead. His attitude. Decided to take over band. Became leader after 6 weeks. I'm a lonely boy - blue beat rack. Practiced others. Sam Cooke & Four Tops popular. Tamla Motown. Crowd changed from elderly to teenage. No Nat King Cole anymore. Became popular. People queue to see him. Did double shows. People enjoyed themselves not fight.
27:07 Practiced everything. Had to get everything right.
27:30 Played at Locarno. Record for pulling biggest crowd. The Walsgrave. The Rainbow The Matrix Futures in Birmingham. Joined Birmingham band. Andy Hamilton audition. Wanted people to fight over him. Sang Cupid. Rock style. Wanted him to join but said no!
29:34 Ebony's Steel Pulse Birmingham bands knew him. Force & Cecil Morris used to follow him. Robert Plant watched him.
30:44 First person to play at playboy club in London. Made live LP. Beatles in audience. One month turned to 6 months. Went to France. Met stars on tour. Otis Reading Lee Dorsey.
OL31:29 On stage at Kloo Jimmy Hendrix and Paul Mcartney played with him. Stevie Wonder and Revolution. Steve Winwood. Johnny Walker DJ was there.
32:57 Played with Tina Turner in Coventry. Otis and Lee in Bolton. He was good. Put on best for big star. Tina Turner on after. Women at front for him. PP Arnold. Men at front. Energy. Tears in his eyes. Shared dressing room. All friendly. Everyone into music and everyone loved you. Went to watch each other. Learn from each other. 1967-68.
35:50 Buzzing scene more lively than Birmingham. Every pub. Lots of Bands. Had to put on live music. Leeds and Manchester the same. Clubs in Birmingham only at weekends. All week in Coventry.
37:28 On the road. Helping Charlie. Asked to run Holyhead Youth Centre. 68-69 travelling so much. Didn't have flat. France Holland Germany etc. Soul music was the thing. Played Santa Rosa when returned. Wanted life back. Slept for a week. Start at 7 go through till 4am. Teenagers in clubs till 12 then older people. People glad to see him back. Many clubs. Buzzing. DJ just played as fill ins. Today is opposite.
40:55 Took the job. Earned £18. Passion. Saw black kids going astray. Bought music in. Charlie, Neville, H. Started sound system. Dances made money for instruments. Went back on road to make money. Checked on them. Bands formed. Made one band. Started playing. Had enough. Asked to go back on the road. Band with Jerry Dammers Neol and Smith Brothers. Nite Train. Went to Africa. Played at Bantam. Wanted to change music. Thought about going back to Ska. Jerry not keen. Was a soul band. Written own songs. 2 nights a week at the Bantam. Ska took off. Practiced a lot. 6 & 7 books went down well kept it in the show. Jerry like him wanted to be a leader. Good friends. Jerry getting experience from Ray. Jerry wanted to play all Ska. Wanted to do his own songs as well. Broke up. 2 bands formed playing Ska. Crowds into it. Pete Waterman said Ray doing it first. Big Bear Music after him. Wanted to stop travelling
47:05 Wanted him to come in on Ska. Made some tracks. John Peel played him. Cut Wooly Bully. Live performer didn't like cutting tunes. Laurel Aiken came to see him in Melton Mowbrey. The Message - big hit in US. To afraid to go there. Deep Soul. Cimande Band. Getting ripped off. Big in Belgium didn't know his record were released there. Band called gangsters changed to Boss. London band. Man wanted to manage him. Mickey Moors of Hot Chocolate signed him on his record. Cut boys are back in town. Good.
52:12 had to stop. Mickey gave manager £90,000 hasn't seen a penny. Left for home. Not singing again for nobody. Couldn't trace managers. Mickey wanted him to continue. Happened to him all his life. Concentrated on Singing not money. Got share of royalties for records from Mickey. Songs in Film called Prostitute made in Birmingham. Wrote A Woman That Understands.
56:00 2yrs as band. Called Boss featuring Ray King to keep crowd. Went around gigging before record release. DLT first to play. Opening tune for months. Fed up with it. Powerful start. Was going to football match. Cov Vs West Ham. Watching fans said Boys are back in town. Friend to write a song about it.
58:49 Got all the people together in Coventry. A lot of white bands already. Copied soul. He trained them in Reggae and soul. Involved in bands at the Railway Holbrooks. Instructed them. Worked with singers. Live person. Tried to get those at the back of the crowd engaged.
59:53 Made sure he got everyone's attention then he went - left them wanting more.
1:00:25 Neville the first one he got on stage. Toast on stage with amp. Got him a gig at Leicester uni with him.
1:01:06 Ripped off lowest point. Two Birmingham brothers managed them. Took their cheques. Didn't have petrol money to get back. Gave him a gig to tie him over.
1:02:41 Secret. Always listened to classical music. Relaxes him. In hall is the greatest person in there. When off stage just an ordinary man. Never drank smoke etc. Don't have downers with that attitude. bought up religious. People feel your energy. Certain of himself. Different on stage. Born to do what he did. Special gift from universe. Gives thanks to god.
1:04:50 Had to buy music sheets Cranes, Panes. Asked to start a Salsa band. Youngsters haven't gone through the apprenticeship. Machine to bring you into tune. He practices. Cut records to rival top artists. Played with Ben E King. Did there songs before them. Told them to better it. No fear on stage. If a fight he runs.
1:06:52 No scene anymore. No audience for it. Still writes songs. Sings about situations. Judy Boucher did his song on her LP.
1:08:45 Time changes and people change to the times. This generation don't want that music. Laid the foundation for people in the 60's. Different style of singing. Every word stressed by Nat King Cole. Now just superstars. When writes songs feels grandmother and new born should like. Want songs with beat and rhythm. Universe created by sound. Musicians special. Don't need drugs etc to get high. Special gift from the universe. Music effects the body. Connects all of us. Believes in reincarnation. Will be a superstar.
1:12:16 Good influence. Two tone bought Coventry alive. When get famous tour away from city. Other places benefit more. Sweden still like two tone. People know it came from Cov. Everything in a circle - always comes back. Record is round beginning is the end and end the beginning.
1:13:55 Likes Madonna. Whitney Houston. Notes and range and vibration. Aretha Franklin. Don't know about modern ones. Will young. Tries to watch top of the pops. Have to perform to area. Clothes and fashion now. Had to sing skilfully as everyone had trained. People don't sing in tune. Crowd don't know. People not musically educated superstar educated.
1:17:23 Everything came from the beginning. All from Universe. Writes best late at night. Vibration stronger. Soca music like garage. Changed ingredients in Hovis but still bread. Music cant be changed what you leave out you have to put back in the end. Music is in the body. Heart Beat is music. Songs that make it have the simple beat we can associate with.


Came to England in 1961 from St Vincent. Calypso music popular on the Islands. Reggae not popular then. Ska started from Blue Beat. Mango sang by Louise Bennette. Trinidad is the original place where Carnival started, St Vincent followed suit. 1812 an African lady who came to St Vincent started Pokominia (spiritual). Lady thrown out from St Vincent and went to Trinidad. Roots of Pokominia already there. Church music influenced by the Pokominians. Trinidad had the Shango (drums) from Nigeria. King George V gave people permission to worship what they wanted. Before that, Pokominia was illegal. Roots of Calypso. When people out in the field and slave masters taking girls out to sleep with them, other people knew what was going on, they could not do anything . The Mistress also took strong men to sleep with them. Because people came from different language, they invented a 'gibridge' people communicating about what was happening in a tune song (way of communicating). Way of warning one another, 'Don't go in there Masser want the girl to himself..'.

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