Nostalgia Steel Band: A Tribute to TASPO on the Approaching 75th Anniversary of their Arrival in the UK!
TASPO’s Sterling Betancourt and Nostalgia Steel Band.
Next year, the UK will celebrate 75 years of the ‘Festival of Britain’ including the arrival the ‘Trinidad All Steel Percussion Orchestra’ (TASPO) and their contribution to the Caribbean’s musical tradition in Britain. TASPO is at the heart of our fraternity and their legacy is a testament to the drive, energy, administrative capacity, and the human skills of TASPO’s Sterling Betancourt who stayed in London to build this art form and make it what it is today. In 1951, TASPO, the first steel band to tour outside the Caribbean, arrived in the UK for the Festival of Britain. Of the 12 original members of TASPO, one remained in the UK, Sterling Betancourt, and together with Russell Henderson, built the steel band movement to what we have today. TASPO’s Philmore ‘Boots’ Davidson later returned to the UK and assisted in the building of the steel band movement. These early pioneers were school steel pan teachers, steel band arrangers and our earliest UK based Pan tuners. Together, they set up the first steel band in the UK in 1964, the ‘Russell Henderson Steel Band’, which changed its name to the ‘Twentieth Century Steel Band,’ before it transitioned to ‘Nostalgia Steel Band’ in 1985 by ‘Boots’ Davidson.
The Spread of Steel Bands in London and Notting Hill Carnival
From those little acorns, great oaks sprung up. More community steel bands appeared in the capital, and in other adjacent towns and cities. Gerald Forsyth set up the first school band in Islington Green School, London (1969), and, by the late 1970s, there were so many school steel bands that Forsyth decided to set up the ‘London Schools Steel Orchestra’, which took the promising musicians from each school steel band to perform at large events around the country. The London Schools Steel Orchestra was modelled alongside the London Schools Symphony Orchestra, and Forsyth and his band toured Germany and performed at Bremen University in 1990. Unfortunately, the idea folded in 1992. However, the outstanding achievements continued including the Notting Hill Carnival (NHC) which celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2016. The original pioneers, Sterling Betancourt and Russell Henderson, paved the way for us to enjoy this wonderful festivity, and with it, the UK Panorama Competition. For their contribution to the steel band culture, they were both awarded the national awards of an MBE and the OBE respectively. Sterling himself was accepted as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (1994) and given a Fellowship of the University of East London (1995).
Meeting Nostalgia Steel Band (Lionel McCalman)
Lionel came across Nostalgia Steel Band in the late 1980s at about the same time as Haroun. Our association with the steel band goes back some 4 decades - apart from brief performances with Glissando Steel Orchestra where Lionel was given an opportunity to hone his skills on the tenor pan, Nostalgia remains the only band he has been a full-time member. He felt, it taught him the discipline he needed to perform in a traditional (pan-around-neck) steel band, and he treasured every minute of it. The band’s repertoire has moved on and no longer perform ‘Yellow Bird’; ‘Jamaican Farewell’; Island in the Sun’ or ‘Kingston Market’ (except when requested to do so) - today the band’s rhythms are more complex. Nostalgia’s single pan - workshops throughout the UK, were numerous and engaged each individual as it involved one participant behind each instrument. Over the years, the band’s membership reflected the diversity of the capital - black, brown, white or we are beige - the colours of the rainbow.
An Unexpected Encounter in the Desert (Haroun Shah)
During a sabbatical from the University of London in 1985 to work at the Faculty of Medicine, Kuwait University, Haroun encountered what would become a lifelong passion in the most unlikely of settings. Exploring Kuwait’s natural beauty with his daughters Camille and Louise (then 7 and 5), they were drawn to the surreal resonance of music echoing across the desert. Following the sound, they arrived at the garden of the Sheraton Hotel to discover it was a steel band. His daughters danced instinctively, while he joined in rhythm using a bottle and spoon. They were warmly welcomed by a small ensemble - Nostalgia Steelband, comprising Sterling Betancourt (leader), Orville “Rocky” Byron, Michael Goddard, and Ralph Bowen. Their warmth, charisma and music catalysed a wave of enthusiasm for Pan within the university community, attracting weekly audiences and what began as a planned three-month stay expanded into a transformative year for the band. Upon his return to London in 1987, Haroun visited Nostalgia’s Panyard at Maxilla Social Club which stood at the heart of NHC. (Maxilla’s community attachment was so profound, that it led visitors to the Tate Britain’s 2022 exhibition ‘Life between Islands’ to select it as one of the 40 iconic sites of London). After an academic tenure in Canada (1991-1993), Haroun returned to London in 1995, only to find the band had dissolved. A new group, Pan Nectar, emerged under Russell Henderson’s stewardship.
Rebuilding Nostalgia and its Cultural Discourse
With Nostalgia now consisting only of Sterling, Lionel, and Haroun and NHC quickly approaching, Sterling urged Camille and Louise - then high school students with no prior Pan experience - to join. Despite the modest five-member ensemble, Sterling’s unwavering commitment propelled the band through the two-day festival,
Posted by Robbie Joseph for Sterling’s 95th birthday on 1st March 2025. Nostalgia’s 5-player ensemble at NHC 1995. Left: With Tenor Pans - Sterling, Haroun and Camille. Right; Louise next to Sterling. https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1XkE6rsbv5/
restoring its pride and presence at carnival. Lionel and Haroun, as directors, transitioned the band to ‘Nostalgia Steelband and Carnival Club Ltd’ and recruited Sterling’s elder brother Herman, Rostum ‘Doc’ Ali, and the late George ‘Kentos’ Alverados as additional directors. With considerable work, the band gradually expanded, and flyers were soon circulated to herald its revival,
Sterling Betancourt with Nostalgia
Practice, Pedagogy, and TASPO
Sterling’s rehearsals at Maxilla were rigorous yet inspiring, marked by precision and patience - his musicality was supreme. He mentored players individually, refining their performance with great care. Amid the cacophony of carnivals, his finely tuned ear would detect errors and he would tacitly approach individuals to correct them. Sterling embodied leadership, and those who played alongside him revered his guidance. During tours, Sterling would enthral members with accounts of the early steelband movement in Trinidad, particularly his experiences with TASPO. Nostalgia, honouring this legacy, was privileged to count two former TASPO members (see above) among its ranks, along with pioneering pannist, Cyril Khamai who at 93, remains a presence at rehearsals. Cyril introduced a 3rd TASPO member Theo Stephens, who lived in London (1960 - 1970) before moving to the USA.
Custodians of a Legacy and Expanding its Portfolio
Nostalgia has proudly positioned itself as a custodian of TASPO’s legacy and celebrated many of its milestones. To our knowledge, it is the only steel band to have formally commemorated TASPO’s 50th anniversary..
Nostalgia’s tribute to TASPO on its 50th anniversary
In 2006, Lionel and Haroun convened the first International Steel band Conference at the University of East London - an academic forum, held every one to two years. Recent editions (9th) took place in Ghana (December 2023) and the 10th in Trinidad (March 2025). At the 8th iteration in London (2021), Nostalgia performed a full TASPO re-enactment to mark its 70th anniversary.
Nostalgia’s re-enactment of TASPO on Saturday 2nd October 2021 at the Tabernacle. Left to right: Frank Ward (maracas), Patrick McKay (5-note base), Haroun N. Shah (tenor), Michael ‘Bubbles’ Olivier (second pan), Cyril Khamai (scratcher), Dudley Dickson (dudup), and Herman Betancourt (maracas). Photo by Robbie Joseph, Pan Podium. Taken from: Conversations and Comments on TASPO at 70! ‘TASPO Day’ - 6th July 1951- Laila M. N. Shah and Haroun N. Shah. IJCA. Vol. 4, 2021 (https://www.steelpanconference.com)
The 12th conference, titled ‘TASPO at 75: Reflections and Innovations in Carnival Arts’, is scheduled for July 2026 with two of London’s universities, UK Centre for Carnival Arts and the Southbank Centre. As part of the band’s commitment to cultural preservation and discourse, Laila and Haroun, under the auspices of Nostalgia, launched the International Journal of Carnival Arts (IJCA) in 2020, a biannual publication that serves as both archive and a platform for scholarly engagement in Pan and Carnival Arts including TASPO’s epic performances. (https://www.steelpanconference.com).
An Intergenerational Vision
Sterling left Nostalgia in 2005 but remained a vigilant observer. The new band cultivated a culture of intergenerational creativity. Younger members were encouraged to compose and arrange, including Lionel’s son, Leo, and Haroun’s daughter, Laila. In 2013, following a formative visit to Trinidad, Laila, at just 14, arranged Bunji Garlin’s Differentology and earned Nostalgia its first official award at the NHC. At the formal awards ceremony at the Holiday Inn in December 2013, Sterling congratulated Laila personally, and she in turn introduced him to the reformed band - now led by the next generation. That moment symbolised Nostalgia’s enduring legacy and Sterling’s monumental influence on its evolution. On 5th June 2022, at 92, Sterling, embodying the enduring legacy of TASPO, conducted the 100-member UK All Steel Percussion Orchestra (UKASPO) in a historic performance at Buckingham Palace, marking the event with a resonant affirmation of Caribbean cultural presence on the world stage.
Sterling (blue suit) conducting ‘UKASPO’ on 5th June 2022 to celebrate the late Queen’s Platinum Jubilee
As the 75th anniversary of TASPO approaches, Nostalgia salutes its living legend - a formidable titan of Pan whose resonant contributions helped define the sonic and cultural identity of an instrument that now pulses at the heart of Caribbean consciousness and its ever-expanding global diaspora
Written by Lionel McCalman and Haroun N. Shah
Nostalgia Steel Band, The Maxilla Social Club
2a Maxilla Walk, London, W10 6SW
