Radio Bimshire Presents

Radio Bimshire

Catch up or listen on-demand with the best of Radio Bimshire - the Voice of the Barbados National Library Service (https://bit.ly/radiobimshire). Radio Bimshire Presents is a selection of short stories, poetry, history, rare audio clips and humour - the sound of Barbadian heritage. Featuring: This Barbadian Life: real voices, true stories, only in Barbados; Off The Shelf: Readings of Barbadian writing; Reparations Revealed; Standpipe: Memories of Wash Day; Sounds of Freedom: Stories of Emancipation... and much more.

  1. COMING SOON: The (Jackie) Opel Effect - The Soul of Spouge

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    COMING SOON: The (Jackie) Opel Effect - The Soul of Spouge

    Based on the epic documentary that premiered on 9 March – the 56th anniversary of Jackie Opel’s tragic death at the age of 32 – The Opel Effect: The Soul of Spouge is a nine-part documentary podcast series that traces the life, music and legacy of Dalton “Jackie Opel” Bishop. Born in Chapman Lane in Bridgetown and inspired by American soul star Jackie Wilson, Opel rose from “wharf boy” diving for cruise ship coins to become the powerhouse singer who helped give Barbados its own indigenous popular music genre: spouge. Drawing on archive recordings and new interviews, the series hears from promoters, musicians and scholars, including Anthony “Al” Gilkes, the late Mark Williams, the late Richard Stoute, Wendy Alleyne, Desmond Weekes, the late Trevor Marshall, Sach Moore, Norman Barrow, Cleve Scott and Ambassador David Commissiong. Listeners travel from the electric atmosphere of Showtime ’65 in Bridgetown to Kingston’s Silver Slipper club, where Jamaican audiences embraced Jackie’s voice and wove it into the story of ska, rocksteady and reggae. The Opel Effect also follows spouge beyond Jackie’s death, through bands like Blue Rhythm Combo, De Opels, The Escorts, The Troubadours, Draytons Two and Wendy Alleyne and the Dynamics, and into today’s experiments with the Jackie Opel Residency Lab, where young Barbadian creatives remix his work for a digital age. Across its episodes, the series asks urgent questions for a new generation: what happened to spouge, what does this music mean for Barbados now, and who will claim the next chapter of Jackie Opel’s legacy? Watch for new episodes each week, coming soon. Written, produced and narrated by Shayla Murrell Mixed and edited by Julius Gittens Produced with John Downes, Amour Chandler, Lamar Nicholls and Adrian Archer

    2 min

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Catch up or listen on-demand with the best of Radio Bimshire - the Voice of the Barbados National Library Service (https://bit.ly/radiobimshire). Radio Bimshire Presents is a selection of short stories, poetry, history, rare audio clips and humour - the sound of Barbadian heritage. Featuring: This Barbadian Life: real voices, true stories, only in Barbados; Off The Shelf: Readings of Barbadian writing; Reparations Revealed; Standpipe: Memories of Wash Day; Sounds of Freedom: Stories of Emancipation... and much more.