

A first-generation Briton, Terrence Wallen remembers his Jamaican parents making sure he was aware of their country’s culture.
Growing up in Birmingham, he was drawn to reggae, particularly the songs of Gregory Isaacs.
Wallen played his hero in ‘The Cool Ruler: The Musical‘, a stage production which ended a six-date United Kingdom run in early June. Based on Isaacs’ colourful life, it played to packed houses in London, Croydon, Birmingham and Catford.
“I had big shoes to fill and I think I did him justice,” said the 52-year-old Wallen, who was making his stage debut.
It was not the first time that he ‘played’ Isaacs, who died in October 2010 at age 60. Wallen has done a tribute show for many years in the UK and Africa, saluting one of reggae’s premier balladeers.
He and a five-member cast, backed by the Delroy Murray Band, recalled the triumphs and pitfalls of the singer’s life. Anton Phillips, a Jamaican based in the UK, wrote and directed ‘The Cool Ruler’.
While he enjoyed all the shows, performing at the 02 Academy in Birmingham on June 1 was a homecoming for Wallen.
“I’m from Birmingham, Handsworth, so there is a bias. Being from ‘Brum’, I had to give them something special,” he said.
From Denham Town in West Kingston, Isaacs is one of reggae’s prolific hitmakers. His songs include ‘Love Is Overdue‘, ‘Night Nurse‘, ‘Soon Forward‘ and ‘Slavemaster‘, which Wallen performed in the musical that opened on May 25 at Hackney Empire in London.
Isaacs’ widow, June, his former manager Copeland Forbes, Chris Chin of VP Records, singers Tarrus Riley and Glen Washington and musician Dean Fraser attended the shows.
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