Review by Mighty Jamma

The first time I saw Despers, I was with my brother Norman in 1981. They were performing at the Birmingham Odeon, (as part of their UK tour). The whole audience was transfixed, we were amazed with the standard and sound of the music. Robert Greenidge gave a great performance with Taj Mahal. This was the first time I had seen a steelpan soloist in action. This performance changed my life. I knew there and then that I would become a professional steelpan solo performer.

My brother and I bought the two albums by Desperadoes and Taj Mahal at the end of the show. Once home we began to learn the full musical arrangements including the solos. I recall spending hours upon hours at my parents’ house playing these records over and over trying to work out Robert Greenidge’s pan solos. We also adapted some of the Clive Bradley arrangements for our own Birmingham based Maestro Steel band led by my brother Norman Stewart.