BAJAN SUN
Bajan Sun Magazine
SEPT 2014
RICKY STOUTE
It’s no surprise that Ricky convinces not only by his
distinctive voice, but also by his incredible
performance. At the Metropolitan High School of
Music, he studied singing and Show Dance (Ballet,
Modern, Jazz and Afro-Caribbean Dance). In 1997
the gifted singer won the Caribbean Song Contest
(compare with the Euro Vision Song Contest in
Europe) and worked with international stars such as
Jocelyn Brown, Joss Stone, Bonnie Tyler, Jamila,
Rihanna and sang a duet with Mel C (Spice Girls) for
the charity show "Hard Rock Cafe Pinktober" at the
Royal
Albert
Hall
in
London.
With saxophonist Gary Barnicle (Tina Turner, Level
42) and guitarist Brian May (Queen, Michael
Jackson), he wrote and produced successful tracks for
various artists. Ricky also made a splash not only in
the lead role of South African musical "Afri can
Footprint" but also in the globally successful Disney
musical "Lion King," which made a stopover in
Hamburg where he sang and played the lead role of
the
young
lion
"Simba".
As lead singer he toured with Xavier Naidoo and the
successful cover band "The All-Star Collective"
throughout Europe. Currently, he is touring as the
lead singer inter alia with the band "The Wright
Thing" throughout Germany. Ricky is focused on his
solo career and is working with his producer Tom
Hendrics on his first solo single and his first solo
album.
and more dedication when compared to performing in
Barbados. What is more is that, ‘Bajans’ as he stated
can be a tough crowd to please. But, that’s only
because most ‘Bajans’ if not all prejudge individuals
before they can sing a note or perform. In his
experience performing overseas, the crowds and other
performers tend to listen, and are very eager to
support performers like Ricky.
Even more, Ricky would have performed in Barbados
at a young age, but when he compares performing in
Barbados today to previous performances, he stated
that performing today is not like it was back in the
early 90s. There is no real music scene anymore,
everyone just seems to sit and wait until its Crop
Over. Back in the 90s, you could go anywhere in the
night and hear live music; great live music; great
musicianship; singers. But, now it’s a ghost town; and
that makes Ricky very sad, because he is a huge
supporter of Barbadian talent. He thinks musicians;
grew tired of the lack of support; and respect
therefore; they’ve lost sight of the discipline which is
disappointing to Ricky, because Barbados have so
many talented musicians and singers. But as he puts
it, knowledge and motivation is sadly lacking.
Having been performing for over 30 years in various
parts of the world, Ricky has a wealth of experience
and is qualified to provide some insight into
performing overseas when compared to performing in
Barbados. Ricky indicated that performing outside of
Barbados commands greater respect and appreciation
from fans and followers as well as from other
performers. He stated that there is a certain level of
respect and support given which lets him as a
performer feel good about what he does. Ricky stated
further that there is a higher level of professionalism
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