Ebony Steelband’s 50th AnniversaryEurope’s Premier Steel BandSpreading the Steelpan Gospel

As Ebony Steelband grew in size, a new practice space was needed. The band made use of the church hall in Spencer Road, Acton, but players had to carry pans back and forth from Shakespeare Road as there was no storage space at the church. It was hard work, but they persevered for the love of the music and the ‘pan jumbie’ within them. The band moved to the Priory Centre in Action until the 1980s, when they moved to the Grenada Centre in Acton, then The Crypt in Paddington where they stayed for a few years. After this, Ebony moved on to the Carlton Centre in Kilburn, followed by Acklam Road in Ladbroke Grove, right in the middle of Notting Hill Carnival. The band were resident at Acklam for many years, and it was during this time that they achieved a recordbreaking nine consecutive panorama titles under arranger Annise ‘Halfers’ Hadeed, with pans tuned by Dudley Dickson. In 2004, Ebony left Acklam and moved to several locations during the following years. These included local schools,

Billy Ocean playing the Iron in Ebony.

Ebony’s first tune was Lord Kitchener’s ‘The Road Make to Walk on Carnival Day’, which they played at their inaugural gig on the Isle of Wight. Many more gigs were to follow, including performances at nursing homes, the Nurses’ Association Dance, Notting Hill Carnival, and the band’s first television appearance was on Hughie Green’s ‘Opportunity Knocks’, a talent show produced by Thames Television. The band began to grow, and more members including Randolph Baptiste, Earl Lewis, and current director, Pepe Francis, joined. In addition to being a steel band, Ebony also had its own mas band. The first mas makers joined in 1972, and by the mid-80s the mas band had become very popular. Ebony Steelband was founded in the autumn of 1969 in Shakespeare Road, Acton, London. Founding members Cape James, Winston ‘P’ Joseph, Hugh and Wendell Hargreaves and Leeford Sylvester practised in the garden shed at Shakespeare Road; an activity which initially annoyed the neighbours, who would throw potatoes at the shed. However, it was not long before the same neighbours began enjoying the music and even making their own recordings of it. Cape initially wanted to name the band ‘Ebonites Steelband’ but the name was already taken, so he opted for ‘Ebony Steelband’ instead.

Carlene Swift Wrists Etienne playing at Notting Hill Panorama.

Scooby playing at ebony's Blockorama