25 Miles On Calypso Road

Walleigh’s Life of Music

THREE-TIME calypso monarch, Walleigh, (real name Wulstan Alfred) has travelled a long road since appearing onstage for the first time at a quarterfinal in 1991 at the Castries Town Hall in his bid to impress the judges.

Having been to his first calypso tent show a year earlier, the novice calypsonian surprised himself by earning a semifinal spot that night. Twenty-five years of music later, Walleigh continues to be an impressive voice for calypso.

Born, raised and currently living in Anse la Raye, Walleigh said friends gave him the sobriquet while he attended Castries Comprehensive Secondary School from where he graduated in 1984. He kept the name when he later decided to take up calypso.

He completed his teacher education course in 1988 and began courses at the University of the West Indies in 1993. He earned his Bachelor’s Degree in 2000 and completed his Master’s Degree in 2011.

Walleigh sang his first calypso, “Worries”, in 1991 while in his mid-20s under the Take Over Tent which he joined a year earlier. He has sung under the TOT banner every year since then before switching to Soca Village International in 2010.

Having attended his first calypso show – a King of Kings competition at Victoria Park (now Mindoo Phillip Park) — back in either 1988 or 1989, he recalled Invader winning with the song, “Just As I Am”, that night. From then on, he followed the calypso shows closely, often recording them on cassettes from Radio Caribbean International (RCI), playing the songs back and listening to the lyrics and phrasings. He thought he had something to offer.

Walleigh’s musical journey started while he was a student/teacher in a St. Lucia School of Music (SLSM) special programme organized by the Ministry of Education for teachers to get training in music education. While there doing piano with Ovid Alexis, he would often sing a few calypsos. One day, Alexis asked him whether he was interested in singing calypsos of his own. Walleigh told him if he had some material, he wouldn’t mind.

Walleigh went to his first tent show in 1990 at the Castries Town Hall. While watching the show, he told the guy next to him he believed he could do better than what he’d seen the performers got up on stage and did. Herb Black sang a song called “I Nah ‘Fraid”. However, Walleigh said he was disappointed when Herb Black introduced two new songs in the semifinals because he really took a liking to “I Nah ‘Fraid”, a song in which Herb Black railed against the injustices he felt about a lot of things. A year later, he forgave his fellow Anse la Rayan when Herb Black came with “Calypso Jail”.

In 1991, Alexis wrote and arranged two songs for Walleigh to compete with: “Worries” and “Keep Considering”. Walleigh’s task was to basically memorize the songs. By the quarterfinals stage at the Castries Town Hall, he had not sung at any of the previous tent shows. In fact, he paid his tent dues that same night to Mighty Pelay, who was the treasurer of the calypso association.

“I gave him the $20 and automatically became a member of the association without even filling a form! Of course, the tent pinez didn’t give me a break that night. They teased as much as they could but I did not pay too much attention to them. They eventually sat down and allowed me to finish my performance that Saturday night. Lo and behold, the semifinalists were announced. I had made the cut. I was really happy that I had made the semifinals on my first attempt,” Walleigh explained.

In 1997, Walleigh began working with Dennison “Phantom” Thomas, a partnership that produced songs like “Ah Gone Through” and “Right The Wrong”, becoming a finalist for the first time in a calypso season. He actually topped the quarterfinal and semifinal round on points that year but failed to place in the final.

“That night, I couldn’t place in the top four,” Walleigh said. “I fell flat. In fact, I sang last at number ten. It rained heavily while I was singing my second number. So that was serious baptism by rain.”

He has since made the final cut for Calypso Monarch on several occasions: 1998, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015. He has placed in the top four on many of those occasions, capturing the title for the first time in 2005 with “Destination Lunar” and “Where de Money Gone”.

After a lengthy hiatus without a crown, Walleigh went back to his winning ways by capturing the title in 2014 with “Street Vibes” and Stitch Reform” and defending the title successfully last year with “Koudmain” and “Robots”.

“Having journeyed so long and remained steadfast is basically because I just enjoy it,” Walleigh said of his longevity in the business. “I enjoy the process of experimenting with different forms of music. I’ve always been blessed to work with people who can understand that. So even when I do it myself, as in songs like “Disco Lights” and “Street Vibes”, stuff that I worked on.”

For calypso to register, Walleigh believes it needs to incorporate either the double entendre or some wit and humour. This year, he says, fans can expect strictly wit and humour as he will be looking at issues that are pretty deep but giving them a treatment that would make people sit back and think.

Songwriter extraordinaire, Delthia Naitram, who has teamed up with Walleigh over the past few years to produce some of the most thought-provoking calypsos you will ever hear on the calypso circuit has written two more gems for him this year. The duo are now editing their latest offerings, “Shoes” and “Come On, Sense”, both of which I was privileged to take in a few bars from. The material seems both deep and strong enough to earn Walleigh a three-peat.

Walleigh cited 2009’s “Land of Absurdity” as one of his most scathing political commentaries. He said he was very passionate about doing that song having seen how politics sometimes affect people in a way that they forget that we all have a country to save and to work for. He also believes the standard of writing and choice of songs needs to rise.

“Sometimes a lot of the songs are not edifying or uplifting and don’t get people to think,” Walleigh said. “The double entendre is often shallow and baseless, bordering on smut. I’ve written a lot of that kind of writing for soca artiste, Kakal, but I don’t want that to be Walleigh’s legacy.”

Ever since joining George Charles Secondary School as Vice-Principal from 2006, Walleigh, who has been principal from 2012, has been working with several students there in preparation for the annual Schools’ Calypso Competition. The school has done admirably in the competition over the years, too, with Ashley “P. Bling” Jules winning back-to-back titles last week with her song, “Keys”. Her principal had a few words for her.

“She is a real find,” Walleigh said. “Since Form One, she has been representing the school, placing fourth on her first try. She was devastated. But she captured the title last year and this year. She’s in Form Three now and a very phenomenal performer who is very hungry to learn and improve. So I’m really fortunate to be working with her.”

Walleigh said the school life at George Charles Secondary School has been a very challenging journey. Nevertheless, he said the experience there has helped him to look at his life differently. He believes that inasmuch as he inspires through his music, he learns much from the students, even when the relationship is not always understood.

“It can be a difficult environment to work in but there is always hope working with young people. Sometimes they just don’t understand what you’re trying to do. It’s also a challenge balancing the calypso and school duties. It’s a juggling act but it’s all worth it,” Walleigh said.