Speakers: Catherine Ross, Lynda-Louise Burrell, & Lenny Bedward
[Music Playing]
Riaz: My mother's Dutch Pub.
Jocelyn: A poster which is a map of Barbados.
Female: My grandmother's suitcase.
Lenny: A flyer with a sound system on it.
Catherine: We all have one of those objects, don't we?
Lynda: Something so sentimental, we've had it for years.
Catherine: And losing or breaking it is not an option.
Lynda: These objects tell a story about us.
Catherine: About our lives, upbringing, and family.
Lynda: And for Caribbeans, whose stories are often left untold, we are bringing these stories to the fore.
Riaz: They're just pots on a surface level, but they're kind of loaded in history.
Lenny: These flyers would've been going back to the seventies, so it brings back great memories.
Catherine: This is Objeks & Tings.
Lynda: A podcast celebrating Caribbean and my favourite tings.
Catherine: Episode three, “Where de noise?”
Hello and welcome, I'm Catherine Ross, and this is my daughter, Lynda.
Lynda: Hello, and as you can hear, we both have quite bad colds, so please bear with us and don't judge us.
Catherine: Together, we are founders of the National Caribbean Heritage Museum, Museumand.
Lynda: We're also the host of this podcast, Objeks & Tings, which celebrates 75 years of Caribbeans in the UK through the objects they cherish most.
Catherine: Yes, as museum owners, we love all objects, particularly those that people hold most dear because these objects tend to have a wealth of stories attached to them, just waiting to be heard.
Lynda: So, we're here to hear them. Each week, we'll invite a different guest onto the show to hear about an object they adore. Can I fit any more “hears” in here?
[Music Playing]
Catherine: And this week we'll be speaking to a dear friend of mine, Lenny Bedward.
Lenny: I'm Lenny Bedworth, I play a sound system called Quantro. So, some people call me just Quantro: “How you going, Mr. Quantro?”
Lynda: I've been mislabelling Lenny for years, how disrespectful. So, go on, tell me mom, when and how did you and Mr. Quantro first meet?
Catherine: I met him at a birthday party of a friend of ours called Olive. He was playing the music and the place was jumping.
Lynda: Oh, I was there.
Catherine: Yes, you were.
Lynda: I forgot it was the first time we met him. Oh yeah, the music was great. Had all the old-time classics because Olive was in her eighties.
Catherine: That's right, yes.
Lynda: And then we had like more modern music as well. So, we had things for the elders and for the youngsters as well. It was a proper Caribbean party, all ages from three all the way up. It's great and good food, obviously, most importantly.
Catherine: True.
Lynda: So, Lenny founded Quantro sound system with his friends almost 50 years ago. Quantro was one of many sound systems being created in the Caribbean neighbourhoods all across the UK in the 1970s.
Many still exist today with nuance forming two. Notting Hill Carnival in London plays host to legions of them every year in fact. But what exactly is a sound system?
Lenny: Well, a sound system is a bigger disco. So, a disco is like a person, one person. It'll bring two speaker box; one bass, and one with a treble on it. But a sound system is a bigger version of that, where you could play in big events and stuff.
Catherine: But the term sound system also refers to the DJs and crew who make this magical music happen.
Lynda: That's cleared that up.
Catherine: So, you might know what's coming next, Lynda.
Lynda: Oh no, not this part again.
Catherine: Yep, it's guessing time. Lenny will reveal what object he's chosen in a moment, but knowing Lenny and what he does for a living, have you got any ideas of what it could be?
Lynda: Record or vinyl?
Catherine: Not quite, but you are on the right track. It's something to do with his sound system.
Lynda: Sound system, a speaker?
Catherine: So close. Here's Lenny or should I say Mr. Quantro to reveal all.
Lenny: So, my objek of today is a flyer with a sound system on it. So, the flyer I chosen was for a dance in Nottingham. It was called the Grand Dance at the Ventec Road School. And it was on Saturday the 12th of May, 1974. So, that will put me at 14.
My brother built this, and he was 16. So, he was the youngest sound from Nottingham to be playing all these sounds because we made a name for ourselves back in the day.
[Music Playing]
So, my dad, when he came over from Jamaica, he came with records and he used to keep blues parties, because back then, there wasn't many places for black people to go. So, they had to do their own events.
So, they had a gram now where they're playing their record off and then they'll invite people and people will tell people, and they'll come round to the houses. They will take it in turns to have a party each week, instead of having it at one house.
My brother, seeing these blues parties going on, he thought of a way how he could do his own disco. So, what he did was take the amplifier out of the gram and then he got a turntable and borrowed some speakers and made his own stuff.
We had a hundred-watt amplifier he built, and then we got two 15 inches speaker and he built a cabinet for those to go into.
So, there were six of us in the Quantro sound system. We used to club together with our pocket money to buy equipment. So, this particular time, there was a competition running, so we entered the competition.
There was about four other sounds in there as well, but the other three sounds broken down. The top section went, the amplifier was burning up, because we was all nervous at these things at those times. But my brother was a bit more advanced into this electronic stuff.
So, we ended up after the four sounds being the only sound to finish up. So, yes, so we won that and then I think we got about £100. So, we built up again and that is how we got onto these dances with these other big sounds from out of town because our name, then, was big.
It's still Quantro, we still got the sound system. The sound system will be going 50 years next year. It's a very good feeling to be doing a hobby. What started out as a hobby and to be paid for it, and still to be capable of doing it now just about.
Lynda: I've always loved a sound system and a good dance, but hearing about the history of them from Mr. Quantro himself hammers home how important they are to our culture. It really makes me feel proud and a tiny bit jealous that I wasn't there in the seventies to party with them.
Catherine: Well, I can't relate to the jealousy. I didn't go to dance as much myself, but I can relate to the pride. It's important to remember that people like Lenny paved the way for younger generations like yourself Lynda, to be able to party in peace.
Back in those days, finding a place to celebrate as a black Caribbean wasn't easy, but somehow, against all the adversity, Lenny managed it. We caught up with him to find out how.
Lynda: Hi Lenny, or should we say “Eh up Mr. Quantro?!”
Lenny: Quantro sounds better to me.
Lynda: Oh, okay. Eh up Quantro?!
Catherine: Yeah, we’d like to give you the old Nottingham greeting with an “Eh up!”
Lenny: Eh up!
Lynda: We love learning about your flyer. Could we ask why you chose this particular one for the grand dance?
Lenny: I've been on a lot of grand dances but the particular one I did like most of all, was the one with a sound called Shaka on it to give tribute to him because he is not long died. Shaka is a sound system and a person who played that sound system.
Lynda: So, Shaka, yes, he did die recently. Why was it so important for you to have this flyer with Shaka on it? What's the meaning about Shaka that you think is really important?
Lenny: Well, Shaka was a sound system from London. So, we came from Nottingham and then he wanted to bring us in on the platform. So, we was quite privileged to play with him about three times in our lifetime.
And we was the only ones from Nottingham to do so because you've got to remember they used to call Nottingham the country. They always thought London was better than everywhere else.
So, they didn't know a sound from Nottingham, the Midlands could put up a good performance. That's why he called us so many times.
Lynda: So, Nottingham and Quantro were doing big tings then?
Lenny: Yes, back then, yes. There was many other sounds but there wasn't on the road, there was more in the blues. So, we was a road sound to go all over the place and play different sound systems from all over.
Lynda: So, how does that differ then from — so sound systems were on the road and travelled where the blues, was that more stationary and just stayed in the local area?
Lenny: Yeah, the blues was just stationary. They'll get an old derelict house or whatnot and do their parties in there, and that wasn't our sort of thing. We liked to travel around.
Lynda: Is that where the term “road man” comes from?
Lenny: Yeah, most of it would come from there, and they will call you “road man” because you're always on the road. So, you know Jamaicans will always find a termination for everything.
Lynda: Yeah, we do.
Catherine: So, I know that you don't have the particular flyer you're talking about because it was quite a few years or decades ago now. You only have a photograph of it.
Lenny: Yeah.
Lynda: Why is that? Why don't you actually have the actual flyer?
Lenny: Well, there was a guy who used to collect the flyers in the sound system and his name was Monty, and he died about over 45, 50 years ago. So, what happened to all those original flyers? I've got a few and my brother Keith's got a few, but he used to just keep all of them.
Lynda: Yeah, was he part of the actual sound system or just someone that came to all of your dances?
Lenny: Yeah, he came to a lot of the events. He'll go out into the Midland and he'll be dancing away, skanking and representing the sound by his dancing.
Lynda: And again, for those that don't know, skanking is a dance?
Lenny: It's a form of a dance, yes. They used to have competitions as well in the dance arena when you're in these dances to see who are the best moves.
Lynda: Do you want to get up and show us Lenny, and I'll describe it for the listeners?
Lenny: No, thank you.
Catherine: Listening to you and Lynda talk about the flyers is one of the reasons why we started the museum. We need to keep these things, these documents that record the great things that we did in the past so that the future generation can see how amazing we were and the creativity we had.
So, yeah, in future make sure that you keep one of those or send them along to our museum, Lenny.
Lenny: I've got a few where I could send over.
Lynda: Don't send us the flyers, we'll come and pick them up, because we always know when we come to your house, we always get nice drinks.
I must say Lenny, we've known each other for a long time as we've said previously, but I've never asked you why is your sound system called Quantro?
Lenny: We're called Quantro because we used to have quad boxes. Now, quad boxes is four speakers in one box, but these one boxes was over six foot, about six foot tall.
Lynda: I remember back when I was out raving, and I used to always like to dance on the top of the speaker box. Did people and do people still do that, your dancers?
Lenny: Well, I hope not, there's this elephant safety business going on.
Lynda: Oh, nowadays.
Lenny: So, you can't be doing … and you've got to take out liability insurance and all sorts of things. So, it wouldn't be too wise for them to be doing that nowadays.
Catherine: So, I keep hearing about these sound boxes and whatever. Where'd you get this wood if it was so big?
Lenny: You see when you're young, in the seventies, nobody had no money. Where would you get these wood from? You have to get them off building site at the nighttime, because we can’t buy wood.
Catherine: It was a case of beg, borrow, and steal.
Lynda: Or just the steal part? Tief it.
Lenny: Yes.
Lynda: So, earlier Lenny, we heard about you used your dad's sound system to help make your sound system. Didn't you get a beat for mashing up his sound?
Lenny: Well, he didn't realistically have a sound system you know. What he had, every Jamaican parents would've had a gram. So, in this gram, it would be like a brown thing, like a cabinet.
And then it would have drinks in one part, one door you'll open, it would have drinks in there and then another part would have a radio and a turntable. So, that's what they used to use. And it was called a blue spot gram.
Lynda: Oh yeah, I've heard of that. I remember my grandparents having one of those. And the blue spot from what I remember was the really fancy one that the rich people had, is that right?
Catherine: Yeah, it was a real status symbol. And we've heard about your parents’ blues parties, were they like shebeen ?
Lenny: Yes, I would say so. But the terminology of the shebeen back in the sixties, there was nowhere really for people to go. So, they used to have these house parties. It's over the years now they turned it into shebeen
Catherine: But how were shebeens different to house parties?
Lenny: I would say a shebeen is when everybody shoved into a house, what maybe derelict, it's nobody's house.
Lynda: So, is that where the term shebeen came from? Everybody was shoving into the house, is that it?
Lenny: I would say so, yes. Everybody shoving into a house. So, they were shortening it down to a shebeen.
Catherine: But Lenny, I wouldn't know about any of those house parties, blues parties or shibin because I was a little church girl.
Lenny: I wouldn't believe that for one second. Because even if people want to portray there was going to church, when there's a dance going on and their parents is sleeping, they're climbing out the window and somehow, they end up at the dance.
And there was one particular dance, some people climbed out their window. They made up the bed, they put the pillows in, so if their parents looked in the room, they'll sort of see a figure in there.
But this particular day, the dad went into the room and was checking and then he wasn't there, nobody was there. So, you know what they did? The mom and dad, they went down to the dance.
Parents came in, they turn on the light, walking around, that time, the man's daughters winding up in a corner. Now, winding up in a corner is when you're dancing with a young man very close. Then seeing his daughter, so he grabbed her out.
Lynda: And what did the girl's dad do to you?
Lenny: They would've got beaten.
Lynda: No, no, what did they do to you? I'm sure the story's all about you, Lenny.
Lenny: No, none of these stories is about me. These stories is about what I seen. My parents ain't going to come in no dance for me.
Catherine: Lenny used to play dances all across the UK, how did you transport your sound system?
Lenny: So, we went and hired a van. There was a neighbour running same times, he was named Mr. Brown. So, he was like a friend of the family, and he had a van, and then you have people who would want to come to the dance but they couldn't get to the dance so they used to go in the back of the van, what they call the van back.
Lynda: Van back, I like that.
Catherine: So, now we know how you travelled. But how many people were there in your particular sound system?
Lenny: So, you had say, six main people who would like be … you’ll have a person who would string up the sound. You've got someone who will put the record on. You'll have someone who was the MC. So, each person had a role.
Lynda: And what was your role, Lenny?
Lenny: I used to put the records on, you'll have a selector and then you'll pass me the record and I will put it on.
Lynda: Where would you buy your records from back then?
Lenny: We didn't get much of a pocket money but between all of us, we used to save. So, we would have to go out of town. You couldn't really get no records from Nottingham because everybody would have it.
But we used to end up going London because we used to have family down there, Birmingham, them and those kind of places. So, you're getting these records from Jamaica out of the press, but you have to get there early.
So, these records, what they would send, they maybe send about four of each record. So, you had to get there quick to get one of those. So, not a lot of sound system would be playing though.
Lynda: And can I ask, I know that Caribbeans would love nicknames like big man, shorty, those sorts of things. Did you all have nicknames for each other and if you did, what were they? But keep it clean because we don't want to get banned.
Lenny: I never really had no nickname. I can't remember my brother having no nickname. But my father, they used to call him Busher. So, I think when he was in Jamaica, when he was young, why they call him Busher, he was always in the bushes.
So, they just find words and names for you, and it just stick.
Lynda: So, that's an interesting one. What does it mean to be in the bushes?
Lenny: Back in Jamaica, in these bushes, used to have a sugarcane, cashews, all these things, what will grow; mangoes, and he liked to spend his time in the bush.
Lynda: Eating?
Lenny: Yeah, so his parents will be looking him because everybody would have to do chores. But then if you don't do your chore, you're going to get beaten.
So, my dad was always in the bush, so his name stuck to him from when he was small until he came to England because if you look on his grave, it would've bush around it.
Catherine: Oh, how lovely, that's really nice.
Lenny: Yeah, so that’s on his grave.
Catherine: So, I know you have a few grandchildren who are about the same age as you were when you started 14, 15. How would you feel if they did the same things as you?
Lenny: So, my oldest grandson's 15 on Sunday, and there is no way he'll be doing any of them things while I'm about, because times have changed. Things are different now, you'll be in more trouble than what I would've been in back in those days.
Lynda: So, it's so true because when I was younger and I was going out raving around the same age 14, my mum was such a good mum, she would always sit outside of the club in her car doing her work. So, if anything happened me and my sister could always run out and mum was always there, you were always there.
Catherine: Thank you for that Lynda, perhaps a little too caring a parent.
Lenny: Yes, but that just remind me of the young ladies whose mum came into the club. See your mom's outside waiting for you, is a good ting she never come into the club and drag you out.
Lynda: She didn't really need to because a lot of the bouncers were either family, family friends or some of the boys that she used to teach. So, everyone knew who we were, so we were always very safe.
Catherine: Quantro will be celebrating its 50th birthday next year, how will you be celebrating?
Lenny: Well, hopefully, we'll try and put on an event of some sort to celebrate with the people for our 50th year in sound system.
Lynda: Yeah, I'm looking forward to that. So, we're coming to the end of our conversation, and we always like to end with a saying: do you have particular saying that your family always use or maybe a Quantro saying, because I'd love to hear it.
Lenny: Well, mine would have to be “Walk good.” Now, walk good means keep out of trouble and walk safe.
Lynda: That's a good one.
Lenny: On your travels.
Catherine: That’s really reassuring and lovely. Yeah, I love that, thank you.
Lynda: I have one to add. A person called Mr. Quantro told me this a few years ago, and it always sticks in my head, which is, “Where's the noise?”
Lenny: Would that be my younger brother telling you that?
Lynda: It was you who told me that.
Catherine: And in fact, Lenny, I don't need to know where you'll be next year celebrating your birthday of Quantro. I’ll just walk down the street and say, “Where's the noise?” And we'll find you.
Lenny: That will be nice.
Lynda: I couldn't resist saying “Where de noise” to Lenny. It's just one of those things you always hear.
Catherine: Particularly on a Friday or a Saturday night, it's weekend, it's party time.
Lynda: Or parties can also be called “jump up time!”
Catherine: Yeah.
Lynda: Also, do you remember somebody did say to us that if you see lots of cars in the Caribbean neighbourhood, there's a jump up, there's a party going on somewhere?
Catherine: That's so true.
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Lynda: So, that's nearly it for today. I hope you enjoyed hearing about the roots of sound system culture here in the UK, and feel inspired to have a little dance, a little jig.
Catherine: Yes, but don't follow Lynda's example and climb on top of any speakers, we don't want anyone breaking someone's sound system. Now, we know how precious they are.
Lynda: I really did used to do that, oh dear.
Catherine: Tune in next week when we'll be speaking to actress Sabira about an object that transports you back in time.
Lynda: But until next time, bye-bye.