Snazzy ‘ska-sician’ John Atkinson is hoping to infuse new notes into the music scene in Bahrain, with live shows, recording prowess and a string of acts to entertain across the kingdom.
Ska is a genre of music, combining Caribbean-Jamaican folk music and calypso with American jazz and R&B, and is characterised by a walking bass line accented with off-beat rhythms. The name ‘ska’ is said to embody the ‘skat, skat, skat,” scratching of the guitar strum.
“It is a nice bridge between punk music and reggae beats,” the 55-year-old British expat explained.
“I first came across ska in the late 1970s when I heard The Prince by Madness and Gangsters by The Specials and I fell in love with the sound and rhythm.”
Music historians divide ska’s history into three periods – the original Jamaican 1960s scene, the two-tone British revival in the late 1970s which led to a sub-genre of ska-punk and the third wave of ska, involving bands from around the world in the 1980s and 1990s.
Mr Atkinson mainly performs songs from the 1970s revival and started performing ska in 2005 after meeting ska band Madness’ lead singer Graham McPherson, known by his stage name Suggs and inspiring Mr Atkinson’s own stage name ‘Suggzy.’
Mr Atkinson then started a band called Ska Gangsters, before branching off on a solo career, performing all over the UK in holiday parks, halls, clubs and lounges.
Although he continued to listen to his favourite tunes, he had hung up his ska boots by the time he came to Bahrain in 2014 and started working as a facilities manager at the Bahrain Rugby and Football Club.
But the ska stage was not quite done with him yet.
Mr Atkinson
“I sort of got dragged back in to it after a chance meeting with a security specialist from the British Royal Navy base,” he explained. “He recognised me from my ska performing days and even gave me a copy of my old poster from around 2009!”
The fan pleaded with him to perform at the UK Naval Support Facility on Boxing Day 2019 ... and now the beat goes on.
“Ska is just something that British expats of all ages recognise and relate to, despite its niche appeal,” explained the energetic performer.
The pandemic hit soon after his first gig, closing dine-in options and scuppering a chance for follow-up performances, but Mr Atkinson persevered, doing his second live show at the British Club on the night before the new Covid-19 restrictions came into effect.
When he is not entertaining people with his Suggs impressions, Mr Atkinson is trying to refresh the live music scene in Bahrain, while also planning to open a fully-fledged recording studio.
Hoping to replicate the success of his 21-year-old studio in the UK, the trained mechanical engineer, is drawing on his 30 years of musical industry experience.
“I think the music scene in Bahrain is fantastic, but due to the visa situation, it can get stagnant with bands being tied to a certain club,” he explained.
“I’d like to build a roster of acts, personally vetted by me, that are not just going through the motions, but actually having fun on stage, because that’s how we can make sure the audience is also having a great time.”
naman@gulfweekly.com
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