Square One (band)
Encyclopedia
Square One are a Barbadian
soca
band, formed in December 1986. They continued until 2005, splitting up after singer Alison Hinds
left the group. They re-formed in 2010.
joined as co-vocalist in 1987, and the band took the name Square One that year. Their début album, Eat Drink and Be Merry, was released in 1988, and they were named 'Hotel Band of the Year' by the Musicians & Entertainers Guild of Barbados the same year, winning it again in the following two years. In 1990 they were joined by keyboardist Terry Arthur, and toured Europe for the first time. They built an international fanbase, with Hinds singing in French, Portuguese and Caribbean Patois. They were signed to Eddy Grant
's Ice Records
, releasing Special in 1992. Square one became the first representatives from Barbados as the Caribbean Music Awards at the Harlem Apollo in 1993. After a further album, Square Roots, they parted ways with Ice Records in 1995. Their next album 4 Sides spawned the hit single "Raggamuffin", which topped the charts in Guatemala
for 49 weeks, and further hits followed with the Sweetness album and "Aye Aye Aye", "Turn it Around", "Ju Ju", and Sugar (Sweet)". They also won the Road March competition at the Barbados Crop Over in 1997 with "In the Meantime". Their 1998 single "DJ Ride" tooped St. Lucia's Radio Caribbean chart for four weeks, only knocked off the top spot by the band's next single, "Faluma". They also had a number-one hit in Barbados with "Bandit Dance", and had several hits in Trinidad and Tobago
. In 1999 they won a Sunshine Award for 'Best Group Recording' ("Kitty Kat"). The band performed at the Negril Getaway festival in 2002.
Hinds left the band in 2004 after her daughter was born, having first taking a break in 2003 with Keanne Walters taking her place, but has since enjoyed a successful solo career.
Square One split up in 2005 but reformed in 2010, headlining the 'Soca On De Hill' festival in 2010. Anderson won the Party Monarch title in 2010 with his song "Foot On Fire".
Compilations:
Barbados
Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles. It is in length and as much as in width, amounting to . It is situated in the western area of the North Atlantic and 100 kilometres east of the Windward Islands and the Caribbean Sea; therein, it is about east of the islands of Saint...
soca
Soca music
Soca is a style of music from Trinidad and Tobago. Soca is a musical development of traditional Trinidadian calypso, through loans from the 1960s onwards from predominantly black popular music....
band, formed in December 1986. They continued until 2005, splitting up after singer Alison Hinds
Alison Hinds
Alison Hinds is a Bajan female soca artist based in the Caribbean island of Barbados. She is one of the most popular soca singers in the world and has been given the nickname the "Queen of Soca".-Biography:...
left the group. They re-formed in 2010.
History
The band was formed in 1986 by Anderson "Youngblood" Armstrong (vocals), Cecil "O Shaka" Riley (vocals), Paul Slater (bass guitar), George Jones (keyboards), and Winston Beckles (drums). Armstrong had begun performing in local calypso competitions in 1983, and was the youngest finalist in the Pic-O-De-Crop Calypso Monarch competition. Alison HindsAlison Hinds
Alison Hinds is a Bajan female soca artist based in the Caribbean island of Barbados. She is one of the most popular soca singers in the world and has been given the nickname the "Queen of Soca".-Biography:...
joined as co-vocalist in 1987, and the band took the name Square One that year. Their début album, Eat Drink and Be Merry, was released in 1988, and they were named 'Hotel Band of the Year' by the Musicians & Entertainers Guild of Barbados the same year, winning it again in the following two years. In 1990 they were joined by keyboardist Terry Arthur, and toured Europe for the first time. They built an international fanbase, with Hinds singing in French, Portuguese and Caribbean Patois. They were signed to Eddy Grant
Eddy Grant
Edmond Montague "Eddy" Grant is a musician, born in Plaisance, Guyana.- Life and career :When he was still a young boy, his parents emigrated to London, UK, where he settled. He lived in Kentish Town and went to school at the Acland Burghley Secondary Modern at Tufnell Park...
's Ice Records
Ice Records
Ice Records is a record label based in Barbados that is owned by musician Eddy Grant. In addition to Grant's music, the label also seeks "to record, promote and market classic calypso, soca and Ringbang ." Ice Records lays claims to owning the largest catalog of Caribbean music in the...
, releasing Special in 1992. Square one became the first representatives from Barbados as the Caribbean Music Awards at the Harlem Apollo in 1993. After a further album, Square Roots, they parted ways with Ice Records in 1995. Their next album 4 Sides spawned the hit single "Raggamuffin", which topped the charts in Guatemala
Guatemala
Guatemala is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize to the northeast, the Caribbean to the east, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast...
for 49 weeks, and further hits followed with the Sweetness album and "Aye Aye Aye", "Turn it Around", "Ju Ju", and Sugar (Sweet)". They also won the Road March competition at the Barbados Crop Over in 1997 with "In the Meantime". Their 1998 single "DJ Ride" tooped St. Lucia's Radio Caribbean chart for four weeks, only knocked off the top spot by the band's next single, "Faluma". They also had a number-one hit in Barbados with "Bandit Dance", and had several hits in Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago is an archipelagic state in the southern Caribbean, lying just off the coast of northeastern Venezuela and south of Grenada in the Lesser Antilles...
. In 1999 they won a Sunshine Award for 'Best Group Recording' ("Kitty Kat"). The band performed at the Negril Getaway festival in 2002.
Hinds left the band in 2004 after her daughter was born, having first taking a break in 2003 with Keanne Walters taking her place, but has since enjoyed a successful solo career.
Square One split up in 2005 but reformed in 2010, headlining the 'Soca On De Hill' festival in 2010. Anderson won the Party Monarch title in 2010 with his song "Foot On Fire".
Discography
- Eat Drink and Be Merry(1988)
- Special (1992), IceIce RecordsIce Records is a record label based in Barbados that is owned by musician Eddy Grant. In addition to Grant's music, the label also seeks "to record, promote and market classic calypso, soca and Ringbang ." Ice Records lays claims to owning the largest catalog of Caribbean music in the...
- Square Roots (1993), Ice
- 4 Sides (1996)
- Sweetness (1997), Square One
- In Full Bloom (1998), I-Man/Gator
- Fast Forward (1999), I-Man/Gator
- Champion (2001), Square One
- Higher Heights (2001), Musicrama/KochKoch RecordsE1 Music , the primary subsidiary of E1 Entertainment LP, is the largest independent record label in the United States. It is also distributed by the Universal Music Group in Europe under the name E1 Universal...
Compilations:
- Square One, A3
- Missing Files Collections (2001)