Mélange Travel & Lifestyle Magazine January 2019 | Page 18

T
he name Bankie
Banx is synonymous
with music and on
the small Caribbean
island of Anguilla there is no
anonymity for him – he is
music !
Bankie
Banx
Reggae Singer, Anguilla
Growing up in a family of
four boys and 2 girls, the
one guitar the family owned
was a popular instrument
which meant that the time
allocated to each person
was just not enough from
Bankie’s perspective, so he
made his own guitar! From
six years old, he realized his
love for poetry and a lot of
his time was spent writing.
When his poetry and guitar-
playing merged, the result
was electric. He wrote,
played and sang!
Bankie’s life of music was
not sporadic. His was a
continuous flow of musical
interactions. At fourteen
years old he was already
the bass player in a band on
Anguilla, whose members
were incredibly flexible,
playing anything – Rock
and Roll, Calypso or Pop.
Whatever was requested
from the popular UK Top 40
Hits at the time was easily
done. In 1969, Friday and
Saturday nights saw the
band playing at the British
Army camps on Anguilla, to
the delight of the 300 British
personnel stationed there.
Sint Maarten was also the
recipient of Bankie Banx’s
talent, performing with a
band there as a background
vocalist and keyboardist.
His first album was released
in 1977, Bankie Banx Roots
and Herbs, catapulting him
further into the limelight as
Prince of Darkness on that
album was a resounding
favourite throughout the
Caribbean. His other songs,
Duty Calls, Hitching a Ride and
The Dreamer also enjoyed the
coveted #1 spot at various
times. Many other albums
followed and with it came
visibility on the international
scene. Bob Dylan connected
with him on Anguilla in the
1980’s and they enjoyed
musical interludes together.
Bankie’s voice is unique and
impossible to ignore. As
you go through music lists,
trying to find something
interesting to listen to, pause
is inevitable if one of Bankie’s
songs is being played. If you
have never heard his songs
before, your pause will be
because a note of intrigue
has been sparked - who
is this guy? What a voice!
Mysteriously sultry, one song
won’t be enough. You will
feverishly search for another
. . .
Some have likened him to
Bob Dylan, Bob Marley, Eddie
Grant, Neil Diamond, the
list continues .... His unique
voice has taken him to New
York where he lived, worked
and toured with well-known
musicians in many cities
throughout the United
States. He opened concerts