MASMAN NEVILLE
HINDS DIES
By Terry Joseph
Express
June 30, 2000
Page 9
Veteran
mas designer and producer Neville Hinds died yesterday morning
in New York.
Hinds,
58, whose work first came to national attention in the early 1970s when he was
part of the Irwin McWilliams band, left the fold of the legendary bandleader
along with nine other senior members to form the Showcase organisation.
Their
first presentation, Go Fly a Kite (1977), won rave reviews and
catapulted the band from the medium category to the large bracket after only
one season.
For
years, Showcase commanded major patronage, particularly from the inner city.
In
1983, Hinds left Showcase to form Mas Men.
Their first production was Follow Fashion. In the year following, Mas Men presented The Wedding of Alladin
and went from strength to strength, until a major shift occurred in mas
preferences, which saw much of the band's usual crowd moving west.
National
Carnival Bands Association (NCBA) consultant and researcher, Arden Knox,
yesterday described Mas Men as: "Never a winner outright, but always in
the top five and, as all other band-leaders knew, they were a force to be
reckoned with."
NCBA
chairman Richard Afong said: "While Neville Hinds was not on the scene at
home, he still contributed to Trinidad and Tobago Carnival by becoming involved
with bands in New York and other states.
His designs will be remembered for attempting to capture the glory of
the portrayal, while keeping costs down to affordable levels - a combination he
had mastered.
"We
all mourn the loss of one of the latter-day stalwarts of the mas fraternity and
the NCBA would like to extend sincere condolences to his family. Even after migrating, he not only continued
the tradition abroad, but came back home each Carnival to make his input here
as well," Afong said.
Hinds
is said to have died from complications resulting from a kidney condition,
coupled with the ravages of leukemia.
Funeral
arrangements are yet to be finalized.