ASKaND “MOVERS & SHAKERS”!

However, he arrived in Southampton in one piece and took a train to Birmingham. His destination was Small Heath where his uncle, who emigrated to England in the 40's, also resided.

For over 4 decades, the people of Birmingham City and beyond, have been coming out in droves to dance the night away to the sweet sounds of ‘Studio City’. A son of St Kitts and Nevis also known as, Lewis Fyfield.

Lewis was born in Nevis in the 1940's and at the age of 15, moved to the neighbouring island of St Kitts. There, he resided in a small district, called 'Old Road' which has the distinction of being the area where on 28 January, 1624, Thomas Warner, his wife Rebecca, his son Edward and 14 others first settled on the island. It was there that Lewis began an apprenticeship as a Mason (today’s equivalent of a bricklayer) and carpentry.

In the 1960's, Lewis decided to follow his dreams of travelling to England to develop and maintain a skilled trade. So, at the tender age of 18 he set sail. After 3 weeks at sea, he arrived in Southampton. The whole experience was deeply unpleasant because for most of the journey he was unwell!

On arrival in Small Heath, he immediately set about seeking employment and secured a job as a bricklayer. In those early days in the UK, it was so cold! At times when he was holding his tools, he found that he could not hold the hammer! Even his fingertips were numb! So much so, there were times where the skin on his fingers would split and bleed from the extreme cold. He went on to work for a variety of well-established building companies such as: G T Hunt and Sons, Wimpy, Thorney Works, John Laing and many more. At the same time, Lewis was also attending Hall Green College to study plastering and construction. Through the successful completion of his course, he developed the skills necessary to become a Site Foreman on a

Lewis went on to work on the construction of the original BullRing City Centre as well as the construction of the first block of flats above New Street Station from start to finish. As an established plasterer/ foreman; business began to flourish in the plastering trade. Therefore, Lewis decided to run his own business as a plastering contractor. At one stage he had a team of 21+ plasterer's, working for him, along with various other members of the team, which included van drivers, administrators and so forth.

Good relationships were built with well-established construction firms such as Barrett’s Homes, E Mantons, J J Gallagher, Wimpey Homes, W & M Perks, Parkfield Construction, M & J Mahoney, Fallons Construction, and many more. Additionally, Lewis went on to train a diverse groups of plastering apprentices, who have gone on to become successful plasterers in their own right. Including his son and his eldest grandson.

However, in the midst of becoming a successful business man, Lewis maintained one particular passion; his love of music and Sound Systems. During the 1970's, he had identified a lack of entertainment in his local area of Small Heath. So, Lewis, along with a friend of his, decided to build a Sound System. Half way through the project, his friend lost interest but Lewis continued in his quest to develop a Sound to provide the community with entertainment. When it was completed, Lewis decided to call his brand-new Sound System: 'Studio City Down Beat'.

Once he had his Sound, Lewis went on to play-out at small blues parties and wedding receptions, whereby he began to build a following and an entourage of ‘Sound Men,’ as he now was becoming a very popular Sound Man himself. He played at voluntary youth clubs all over Birmingham and a wider range of blues parties and Association dances. These Associations included that of: St Kitts, Nevis and in doing so, received four awards for long service and celebrating emancipation, in his time there. and Anguilla, Trinidad and Tobago, and Barbados; along with Jamaican Independence dances.

Having submerged himself into cultural events, Lewis then moved over to bringing well-known groups, bands and acts from St. Kitts, Montserrat, Trinidad, Antigua and Jamaica to play with his Sound. Over the years Lewis has won several awards for outstanding service in the playing of Reggae and Soca music and a special achievement award for outstanding service to Black Music.

The highlight of his Sound System hobby and his passion for cultural events has been the development of ‘Strictly Vinyl’ Dances - Bringing Back Revival: Bluebeat, Ska, Rock Steady etc. These dances have proved to be very successful and are still ongoing today.

Being so involved with music in the city, it seemed a natural sidestep for Lewis to become involved in the organisation and planning of the Birmingham carnival. As a result of his involvement, he began managing his own carnival troop (in Birmingham). He then furthered his position by becoming one of the Directors of Birmingham Carnival 2000 Ltd