Singing Windrush: Calypso in Britain (Episode 2)


Episode Two: Sweet Jamaica

In the years that followed calypsonian Lord Kitchener’s triumphant ‘London is the Place For Me’ - sang as he disembarked from the Windrush in 1948 - darker sides to London life became apparent. Faced with racism and homesickness, Kitchener and others used their music both as a place to express themselves and tell people back home in the Caribbean about their lives. It was not all bad though; bringing people together with shared experiences of discrimination, migration and a passion for music, Kitchener’s calypso contributed to both new fusion sounds and reshaped identities.

Narrated by Michael Curtis Ruiz

Featuring Tobago Crusoe, John Cowley, Josh Guild, Kennetta Hammond Perry, Felix Luis Ruiz, Sharon Watson

Produced by Gwendolen von Einsiedel, Jake Thorold and Mike Joseph

 

The second in a series of podcasts on Singing Windrush: Calypso in Britain.