In 1984 a group of “Frustrated Musicians” decided that it was time to put musical bands to a new high. They decided to name this new phenomenon TOUCH. The name was to be symbolic of the band’s intention to touch all and sundry with its music.
The founding members of TOUCH were:
Bryan “Paper” Alexander Keyboards and vocals
Willis Williams Keyboards and drum machine
Godfrey “Cherry” Ince Bass and vocals
Godfrey “Freemus” Dublin Guitar and vocals
Lennox “Dinks” Johnson Vocals
Colin King Saxophone
Maxwell “Chalis” Porter Sound engineer
Lance Neverson Sound engineer
Most of these musicians had been in other bands.
Other persons to join TOUCH were:
Julius “Jules” Williams - Keyboards
Gideon James- Drums, keyboards and vocals
Ifil Shorte - Bass, vocals
Cleve Scott - Engineer
Within months of its launch, TOUCH released a 12 inch with two songs, Get up and Party” and Calypso Rock, for Carnival 1986. TOUCH’s first record turned few heads.
The year 1988 was a watershed year for TOUCH. It was in 1988 that TOUCH became
atypical with a distinctive sound that the majority of the soca enthusiasts appreciated. Besides the title track, Back Off, the 1988 album featured Get It In and Jubilee. Back Off was a major success, selling close to one thousand copies locally; a record for St. Vincent and the Grenadines at the time. In New York, the album was re-released on the WB Records label. It was distributed in the various traditional soca markets and beyond. “In the commercial sense” this record was TOUCH’s baptism into big business. During Carnival the band produced and sold t-shirts sporting a cartoon depicting the song Back Off.
TOUCH has done recordings for most of the years between 1986 and 2003. These were done mainly in Trinidad and Barbados. The end result of these records was five road march victories. For some this was too much to stomach and soon there appeared allegations that the band was practicing payola. To the contrary the band’s success was due to the fact that marketing was a major factor. TOUCH reflected an acute awareness of what “corporate trademarking consciousness.” The band produced T shirts, Radio promotions, TV programmes, music videos and open air concerts. The band even had a truck sporting the TOUCH logo -- the open hand outstretched reaching out to touch. The TOUCH logo was a principal element of the band’s marketing strategy. There was also the community element of the band’s marketing: donations to needy children, support to steelbands, and support to a number of male and female sporting organizations.
TOUCH was a pioneer in the use of musical technology in St. Vincent and the Grenadines and the Eastern Caribbean. The band’s rider originally consisted of an acoustic drum, a saxophonist, two keyboard players, a bassist and a rhythm guitarist. However, by the time it was officially launched it had dropped the drummer for a drum machine. This affinity with the drum machine was one of the most consistent criticisms leveled against the band for a number of years. The band bowed to these criticisms in 1989 when it hired a drummer to supplement the drum machine. ‘When we started the use of the drum machine, we were criticized,’ Bryan told the press in 1994, ‘now, every musical band has one.’ The synthesizer was another trademark of TOUCH. In the earlier years the band’s rider featured as many as half a dozen keyboards at any one time. At its launch the band’s array of keys included Korg Poly Six, Yamaha DX-7, Yamaha PF-80 piano and Korg CX-3 organ. TOUCH was always on the cutting edge of technology in the music industry.
TOUCH is one of the pillars on which the modern music industry in St. Vincent and the Grenadines and the wider Caribbean was built..
