Day of legends

ON Monday, the son of Ska legend Prince Buster joined me on my afternoon show ahead of his exclusive one-off tribute performance at Skamouth Festival in Great Yarmouth.

It was Sultan Ali’s first trip to the UK and he was in Coventry to rehearse for the show performing his dad’s most famous songs.

Prince Buster, whose real name was Cecil Bustamente Campbell, sadly passed away last year. He was a massive influence on Britain’s 2-Tone explosion, which of course came from Coventry.

Madness took their name from his 1963 single and their debut single ‘The Prince’ was written in his honour. Cov’s very own The Specials have also paid tribute to the great man by covering ‘Enjoy Yourself’ and adapted his classic ‘Al Capone’ for the song ‘Gangsters’.

It was wonderful listening to Ali talking so affectionately about his late dad and how loved he was by fans all over the world, especially Jamaica.

When the show finished, I quickly suited and booted and made my way to Coventry Cathedral to see a very good friend receive an honorary degree.

Pete Chambers BEM, the curator of Coventry Music Museum in Ball Hill, received his well deserved Honorary Doctorate from Coventry University in recognition of his significant contribution to the musical heritage of the city. I arrived at the Cathedral just in the nick of time to hear the eulogy celebrating his work as a music historian, journalist and as an ambassador for local music past and present.

It was also great to see the Pete when he interviews a local musical legend in front of a packed crowd.

It was a huge honour for me to turn the tables and interview him and to witness this Coventry legend receive his huge pat on the back at the Cathedral beforehand. late Delia Derbyshire being honoured in recognition for her pioneering and longstanding contribution to the field of electronic music.

The Music Museum was my next stop to host a very special edition of ‘Sounding Off’, an event usually hosted by