by Simon Gage
Pepe, who is also from Trinidad, which he left nearly 50 years ago, is the figurehead of Ebony, a band he originated with two friends in a yard in 1969, and which is now the Coldplay, Spice Girls, Beyoncé and One Direction of steel bands rolled into one. It’s the band to beat at Panorama (get it? ‘Pan’-orama), the biggest competition in the steel band world.
‘The oldest member of Ebony is probably me, and I’m 76,’ says Pepe, though he doesn’t often get involved in the hands-on music side any more. ‘The youngest is probably about six.’
And do they care about winning, I ask, or is it all about performing? ‘No, it’s about winning,’ says Pepe, not smiling now that things have turned serious. ‘It’s just bragging rights but, because they’re accustomed to winning it, they don’t want to lose.’
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