GREETINGS PEOPLE DUE THE EBOLA VIRUS JAMAICANS ARTIST CAN NO LONGER TRAVEL TO AFRICA BUT THAT MUST NOT IN ANY WA STOP US AS AFRICANS TO ENTERTAIN OUR OWN PEOPLE DUE TO THE CANCELLATION OF THE LUCIANO TOUR WE ARE NOT CANCELLING THE SHOW BUT WE HAVE CHANGED THE VENUE TO ( HARARE GARDENS )...............AND ADDED SOME LOCAL ACTS THAT WILL BE ON THE CLASH AND CLEAR THE SO CALLED ENCOURAGE MENT OF VIOLENCE WE ARE NOT NOT WE WONT TOLERATE ANY VIOLENCE AS A PROMOTER NOR AS INDIVIDUALS ......... BELOW IS A BRIEF BACKGROUND OF STING THAT I WANT TO SHARE WITH YOU......... In 1984, Isaiah Laing’s love for music caused him to establish an event that would play an integral role in the history of Jamaica’s music. This event would be known as “STING – The Greatest One Night Reggae Show on Earth”, a launching pad for many of Jamaica’s popular entertainers. Through his company, Supreme Promotions Limited “Laing”, like any visionary, struggled through start-up difficulties with STING. These however, did not deter him as he was committed to the STING vision: producing the best dancehall event in this part of the world. In 1984, the name STING was born from a local popular song’s slang “Sting yuh a sting an’ a shock yuh a shock”, which means “You are doing very well”. The first year saw over four thousand patrons turning out at Cinema 11, to hear acts such as Papa San and Junior Reid. After the initial staging, Laing further developed Supreme Promotions into an artiste management outfit and booking agency, along with services such as event coordination. STING was subsequently held at Cinema 11 every year until 1986 when over 13,000 patrons packed the venue. After this large turnout; STING had arrived and needed a larger venue. In 1987, over 22,000 patrons packed into Cinema 1 to witness the inaugural “Four The Hard Way”, which was a friendly rivalry between fast talking Papa San and Lieutenant Stitchie, Admiral Bailey and Professor Nuts. Leading the singers’ lineup were Pinchers, Leroy Gibbons and Frankie Paul, who were managed by Supreme Promotions Limited. In 1988, Laing had the task of finding another larger venue as Cinema 1 was definitely not suitable for the growing number of supporters for STING. The Jamaica National Stadium was chosen and coming to the fore were Ninja Man, Red Dragon, Flourgon, Sanchez and international star, Maxi Priest. In the following year, STING was where the most popular singers got their chance to prove who could be the best at serenading the over 27,000 patrons. They were: Barrington Levy, Gregory Isaacs, Freddie McGregor and Dennis Brown. They left the patrons screaming far more and there was no doubt that they all performed equally. The Fat Boys were also featured at that year’s staging, which was broadcasted for the first time to the United States and Canada. Jamaica anxiously awaited the performance of Shabba Ranks in 1990. Over 30,000 patrons were entertained with the “Clash of the Century” between Ninjaman and Shabba Ranks, who had risen to the pinnacle of the deejay scene from the year before. In 1991, STING had its largest crowd of over 42,000 and it has been recorded as the biggest turnout for any one-day reggae event in Jamaica. That record still stands! In 1992, over 10,000 children turned out for “Kiddies Sting”, which was headlined by U.S. teen stars: Kriss Kross. STING remained at the Jamaica National Stadium until 1993 when it was moved to Jamworld. That year, STING celebrated its tenth anniversary in fine style. Laing decided to stage a three part event: “Slam” on Christmas Eve – a pre-Christmas party for teenagers; “Golden Memories Filled With Love” on Christmas Day – an event which showcased Jamaica’s best from the ska and vintage eras. The climax took place on Boxing Day where all of dancehall’s best gave superb performances. During the first ten years, Laing received assistance from Dimario McDowell, who provided the creative and graphic expertise for the event. Between 1993 and 1996, Laing saw the need to get additional expertise to redevelop STING into the Mega event it could become. Junior “Heavy D” Fraser, Howard “Big Mac” Mcintosh and Courtney “TT” Bahadur became members of the team and provided financial, strategic, marketing, production and promotion advice for the event. STING went back to the Stadium in 1997 with Busta Rhymes and Foxy Brown as headliners. Due to Jamaica’s preparation for World Cup ‘98, STING returned to Jamworld and since that year, the Jamworld location is STING’s permanent home. STING ‘99 was centered around bringing together some of the top reggae acts of the past twenty years as well as those who made STING over its 13 years. Bad Boy gangster rapper, DMX, gave a stellar performance at STING 2004. In 2001, STING only featured local acts; Bounty Killa, Sizzla, Elephant Man, Ninjaman, Merciless and Morgan Heritage. STING 2002 is still fresh in the minds of over 20,000 patrons who attended. This was the “come back” year for STING as the performances of the “Ten Giants” of dancehall far exceeded every one’s expectations. The giants were Capleton, Bounty Killa, Buju Banton, Beenie Man, Ninjaman, Elephant man, Sizzla, Anthony B, Lexus and George Nooks. History was created as these artistes have not been on the same stage in over a decade!! STING 2008 – the 25th anniversary was a STINGING show, a lyrical clash between dancehall’s baddest Vybz Kartel and Mavado, sponsored by Monster Energy Drink. Jamworld saw over 30,000 patrons and over 5000 watching it live on stingjamaica.jm. It was the most anticipated clash of the decade. Headlines on various Media hyped the clash, there were Gaza fans and Gully fans. Persons wanted to know who was going to take the crown at STING’s 25th Anniversary. To date, there is still a discussion on who the rightful winner was, but as Supreme Promotions CEO Isaiah Laing declared, “it was a tie.” Since 2012, Sting has partnered with DSR’s Josef Bogdanovich, an unlikely individual paired easily with dancehall, who is creating waves and doing more for reggae dancehall and the Jamaican music industry than most, taking the Greatest One night Reggae Show on earth to Pay-per-view this year with the aim of 350 million viewers, evolving the show and Jamaican Music, with the support of the Jamaica Tourist Board. Every Jamaican who is interested in the forward movement of the industry and the country should support the 30th staging of sting. It’s the only show of its kind to amass 30 years under its belt, while setting the trends in event production, security and technological advancement. BRING THE STING on Boxing Day
Posted on: Tue, 14 Oct 2014 07:16:31 +0000
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