Coming To Cortes & Quadra Islands
Pato Banton & The Now Generation are coming to Cortes Island in a special fundraiser for the Cortes Garden Club. they will be performing at Mansons Hall on June 10 and Cortes Elementary Junior Secondary School on June 11. Their last performance, before returning to the United States, is at the Heriot Bay Inn on June 12.
The band has a local connection. Pato’s wife, Antionette Rootsdawtah, visited Quadra and Cortes Islands during an international women’s conference.
I had hoped to interview Pato, his wife, or their local connection Lucretia, but this has not happened. As a result, the podcast below is almost all music – which actually fits with my original vision for this section.
Notes Gleaned From The Net
(Not mentioned in the podcast above)
“Patrick Murray was born in London in 1961, and moved to Birmingham when he was 8 years old. Pato’s stepfather (Lester Daley) was a DJ fresh from Jamaica and the house in which they lived became the weekend night spot for the local community. Pato was the lookout for these illegal parties, working on the door from the age of 9. In his early teens Pato started to gain his musical foundation on his stepfathers’ sound system called V-Rocket, from helping set up the equipment at first to later selecting the music and trying his skills on the microphone. Patrick would stay up all night entertaining the masses and was given the name Patoo by his stepfather. (The name derives from a wise night owl in Jamaica, that stays up all night, calling “patoo, patoo.”)” – About Pato Banton
He adopted the surname name Banton which is disc jockey slang for heavyweight lyricist or storyteller.
HIs first single, recorded in 1982 was “Pato and Roger a Go Talk” with Ranking Roger.
“Banton outgrew the Birmingham scene after a succession of awards, and soon rose to further fame in the 80s via collaborations with Tippa Irie, UB40, as well as with Ranking Roger and Dave Wakeling (the latter often performs in SoCal with his English Beat). A decade later Banton’s recordings were topping charts in South America, Down Under and across the UK. He also laid down roots in San Diego.” – BRAD AUERBACH, Pato Banton Circles the Globe and Returns Home to SoCal
His album Life Is a Miracle received a Grammy nomination for Best Reggae Album in the 2001 Grammy Awards
“At the turn of the century Banton took a sabbatical, and returned to Birmingham were he set up successful music schools in the community. The BBC recognized his efforts with a Lifetime Achievement Award.” – BRAD AUERBACH, Pato Banton Circles the Globe and Returns Home to SoCal
From A Recent Revue
“In the reggae genre, this almost goes without saying. But the London-born singer takes his involvement to a level most of his peers don’t reach, starting with his live performances. His biography on his website and Facebook page describes the prayer circles that often end his shows: “… Some have cried while sharing their stories of contemplated suicide, isolation after losing a loved one, struggles with substance abuse and how their personal connection with Pato has given them the strength to ‘Stay Positive’ & ‘Never Give In.’”
“There’s also Banton’s ministry work. A longtime follower of The Urantia Book, a religious and philosophical text that originated in Chicago in the 1950s, Banton was ordained as a minister online. He has performed weddings for his fans, sometimes at shows, and makes time on tour for christenings, counseling and other duties.”
“Most recently, Banton released 2017’s “Love is the Greatest!”, a compilation featuring collaborations with Ghanaian artist Mohammed Alidu, Pilot Touhill and others; and “The Words of Rastafari,” a three-CD set in collaboration with his wife and keyboardist Antoinette Hall that combines speeches from Ethiopian emperor and key Rastafarian figure Haile Selassie with re-imagined Bob Marley riddims.” – Brian McElhiney,(Music reporter),The Bulletin