Taken from the 1972 SRT album "In the Mood for Dancing" (SRT72201). Terry Noel, pictured seated with the band on the cover to this compilation, came to the UK from Trinidad in 1967 to work as a nurse in Leicester. An experience pan player, Terry responded to an advert for a steel band on the side of a bus, offering his services. Soon he took over the reigns when the original band leader moved to the USA and he changed the name to the Melodians Steel Band. The band soon began getting a good gig list together, including a high profile Thursday night residency at The Durham Ox, Six Hills, Leicestershire - still one of premier nitespots of the region - just off the A46 between Loughborough and Melton Mowbray, if you happen to be passing. After spotting an advert for the fledgling SRT Records in the Melody Maker, the band recorded the LP in one day in 1972 in a studio in Shefford. Around 1,000 copies of the album were sold at gigs, and things quickly picked up for the Melodians, with a commission for Terry and vocalist Johnny Caine to write the theme for the annual Leicester Show, which BBC Radio Leicester used endlessly in trailers leading up to the event. However, Terry decided to return to Trinidad for a year and the Melodians carried on in Leicester without him. Terry decamped to London on his return and formed the 25-piece set up for which he is very highly regarded in the steel band world today. Initially going by the name of The Groovers and then reverting to the The Melodians Steel Band Orchestra, Terry Noel's group are known the world over, winning many prestigious awards. They have entertained delegates in embassies in places as far flung as Korea and Russia, and each year give their annual Christmas concert at The Royal Albert Hall. Nowadays Terry Noel is a magistrate and has received the honour of having a street named after him in Trinidad. |
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