Jamaican crooner Dobby Dobson is here to usher Lindeners into the New Year with a live performance at the L and L Social Club in the mining town tonight – New Year’s Eve.
Dobson arrived in Guyana on Thursday night to a grand welcome by promoters Kevin Barron of Barron’s Exclusive, Regional Vice-Chairman Samuel Hooper and media operative Jackie Bourne. Upon his entrance to the bauxite mining town, the man of soul was engaged in a short media briefing and reception at the River View Hotel, where he is staying.
Speaking with Stabroek News, Dobson said though he has been to Guyana on numerous occasions, he has never been to Linden. “I have never seen people dance they way Guyanese dance in all the shows and performances I had,” he said. “It is so amazing to see how you people hold on to each other and move across the floor without bumping into one another.”
He said Guyana holds a special place in his heart because of an occurrence many years ago in the Parliament of Guyana. He recalled that at the invitation of Mayor Hamilton Green, he went to Parliament during one of the sittings. “Then all these ministers and everybody who were there started banging on the tables saying ‘Muriel! Muriel! Muriel!’ I did sing for them and later I was told that was the first time the two parties agreed on any single thing and that meant a lot to me,” Dobson said. He added that for many years that occasion remained the most important recognition in his life, until a recent award he received in Jamaica.
He said he had no prior knowledge of the town of Linden but was fed a wealth of information by Bourne. “I am already experiencing that what she said is the truth, the people here are indeed warm and hospitable,” he noted.
According to the internationally recognized singer, patrons can expect him to perform a range of songs, “but I don’t subscribe to the Gaza and Gully thing,” a reference to Jamaican dancehall factions. He condemned the ‘Gaza and Gully’ music of today, saying that there are no moral attachments and its content is more destructive in nature. “I would be doing songs from the four latest albums along with some of the familiar ones that everyone knows and loves,” he said. He added that locals are more familiar with his older songs and would be introduced to his most recent releases. “I know they would love those songs. I haven’t heard not a single one yet here but when you guys get into it you would be really on to it,” he said.
Dobson spent Friday in Georgetown in the company of the second promoter Garfield Hoyte of G Spot and made appearances on several television and radio programmes and paid courtesy calls on a number of officials.
Barron said he decided to team up with G Spot to promote the show, titled ‘Night of Elegance,’ after he recognized that there was nothing for a mature audience. Baron and Hoyte pooled ideas and decided on bringing Dobson.
Major sponsors include Banks DIH Ltd, Bosai, Giftland OfficeMax, Jac’s Bakery among several others. According to Barron the party would be the biggest of its kind to ever be hosted in the town and the first for the three years old L and L Social Club.
