Moving to the UK in the 1950s, the Trinidadian musician endured racism and built his own instruments from waste. After his death aged 96, his widow recalls his patience and positivity<\/p>\n
Wearing rusty steelpans hewn from oil drums around their necks, Sterling Betancourt and his 10 bandmates faced a sceptical crowd as they stood outside the recently opened Royal Festival Hall in London in 1951. Jokes about \u201cblack magic\u201d were heard. Then they began striking their pans with mallets and those watching were stunned by the beautiful music that emanated.<\/p>\n
The Trinidadian musicians were playing at the Festival of Britain \u2013 the government-funded jamboree celebrating British and Commonwealth cultural excellence as the country shook off the trauma of war \u2013 and that day they introduced a mellifluous style of music to the UK that has since been passed down from generation to generation. When Betancourt died on 3 June, aged 96, there was little fanfare. As a musician, he was never \u201cfamous\u201d in the sense of having hit records or headlining festivals. Yet this warm, humble nonagenarian \u2013 and MBE recipient \u2013 was among the last of the Windrush-era musicians who changed the DNA of British music. Later this month, his steelpan music will return to the Royal Festival Hall for Steel Scenes, a festival marking the 75th anniversary of the Trinidad All-Steel Percussion Orchestra (Taspo), the group he played with in 1951.<\/p>\n
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