Bidco For The Third Time

THE 1985 winners, Police and the Guyana Defence Force Borderline ensembles were simply no match for the Bidco Invaders and the Charlotte Street-based band romped home with an easy victory in the 1988 national steel band competition. As widely anticipated before the Friday night event at the National Sports Hall, the absence of the Chronicle Atlantic Symphony for the second straight year left few in doubt about the ability of any of the other four bands to really “fatigue” the Invaders.

Like Atlantic Symphony and its offshoot, The Young Entertainers, Bidco is now a third consecutive year winner of the competition.

The performance of the Guyana Telecoms’ Panvibes and the Guy ana National Service “Troupe” left steelband pundits wondering about the future of steelband. These two are obviously in another category and badly need to prac- tise more.

Observers are also concerned about the dwindling number of bands entering the competition in the last four years. It has been a basic five over that period compared to up to ten in the late 70s.

Panvibes occupied the cellar in all the categories. They scored 46 points in the tuning to the GNS’s 47, Police 55, GDF 56 and Bidco 58.

The best arranged band was Bidco with 72 points followed by Police on 71. GDF 63, GNS 60 and Pan vibes 56.

The Test Piece, played with no variation by any of the bands, was Slavonic Rhapsody, an East European classic.

GNS players were forced to return to the stage to replay part of the test piece at the request of judges owing to deafening support from a large contingent of GNS personnel and supporters

Hasslers of Berbice did not enter the competition as was expected.