The Tripoli Steelband goes back to 1942, where they took their name from the line in the Marine Hymn “....to the the shores of Tripoli”. Hugh Borde who was born in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad in 1933, became the leader of the band in 1951, at the age of 18. He was already an excellent ping pong soloist on the instrument. By 1964, the band entered the first Steel Band Music Festival in Trinidad and received a standing ovation at the Queen’s Hall for their rendition of “The Man I Love.” By 1965, the Esso Oil Company decided to sponsor the band.

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