Examples of a nineteen sixties steel-band “Bomb Tunes” – “Elizabethan Serenade”, “Salut d’Amour” by Silver Stars

A good bomb tune was either a classical piece , a show tune or a pop tune.

Not necessarily a popular piece , but a usually familiar tune , with an arrangement that made you jump , but also listen and marvel.

The type of tune you would never expect to hear in calypso tempo ,that came as a pleasant surprise , in the early hours of the carnival.

Bands like Trinidad All Stars would practice their “bomb” in secret , players sometimes only using their fingers instead of sticks , so the practice session won’t be overheard ,

That way the bomb remained a mystery , until it was dropped on J’ouvert morning.

A classic bomb tune from the sixties was the late Junior Pouchet’s arrangement of Ronald Binge’s “Elizabethan Serenade ” by Silver Stars.

Here it is.

Elizabethan Serenade by Silve Stars – An arrangement by Junior Pouchet

Another classic example of a Junior Pouchet arranged “Bomb tune”  by Silver Stars was  Edward Elgar’s “Salut d’amour.

Edward Elgar’s “Salut d’amour” by Silver Stars Steel Orchestra , arranged by Edgar “Junior” Pouchet.

Steelband leader and arranger Junior Pouchet was a steelpan pioneer and legend who made his mark in the history of the art-form passed away on 24th March, 2012.

May he Rest in Peace.