Austin Lyons (born 25 May 1956), better known as Superblue, Super Blue and Blueboy, is a

Trinidadian Trinidadians and Tobagonians, colloquially known as Trinis or Trinbagonians, are the people who are identified with the country of Trinidad and Tobago. The country is home to people of many different national, ethnic and religious origins. As a ...

calypsonian A calypsonian,Definition of CALYPSO
soca Soca or SOCA may refer to: Places * Soča, a river in Slovenia and Italy * Soča, Bovec, Slovenia * Cayenne – Félix Eboué Airport, by ICAO code * Soca, a village in Banloc Commune, Timiș County, Romania * SoCa, Southern California Other u ...

musician, and lyricist.

Early life

Lyons was born on 25 May 1956 in

Point Fortin Point Fortin, officially the Republic Borough of Point Fortin, the smallest Borough in Trinidad and Tobago is located in southwestern Trinidad, about southwest of San Fernando, in the historic county of Saint Patrick. After the discovery of pe ...

. His mother is a Grenadian and his father is Trinidadian.

Career

Lyons became famous from his first entry into the

calypso tent Calypso tents are venues in which calypsonians perform during the Carnival season. They usually are cinema halls, community centers, or other indoor buildings which have seating and stage arrangements to host the entertainers, guests and patrons; ...

world in 1980 with "Soca Baptist," a song he penned in 1979. "Soca Baptist" won him his first

Carnival Road March The Carnival Road March is the musical composition played most often at the "judging points" along the parade route during a Caribbean Carnival. Originating as part of the Trinidad and Tobago Carnival, the term has been applied to other Caribbean ...

Monarch award in 1980. He won the annual T&T Carnival Road March title ten times (in 1980, 1981 and 1983 he won under the moniker Blue Boy, and as Superblue in 1991, 1992, 1993, 1995, 2000, 2013 and 2018). He won the Trinidad & Tobago Soca Monarch (now the International Soca Monarch) title seven times, making him only the second man in the English-speaking Caribbean to win the Soca Crown seven times after

Grynner Grynner (born MacDonald Blenman on 10 February 1946), is a popular calypsonian from Barbados. Like his compatriot Mighty Gabby, his songs often feature political and social commentary. He has been named the Barbados Crop Over Road March "Tune of t ...

of Barbados who the Road March crown in Barbados the same number of times (1983, 1984, 1985, 1988, 1989, 1990 and 1998). Superblue is famous for wearing blue costumes and dancing on top of speaker boxes. He developed a reputation for performing daring antics while on stage for the Soca Monarch competitions. Superblue has many children. His daughters, Terri Lyons and

Fay-Ann Lyons-Alvarez Fay-Ann Lyons-Alvarez (born November 5, 1980) is a Trinidadian soca recording artist and songwriter. She is also known by the stage names Lyon Empress, Mane the Matriarch, and the Silver Surfer, a nickname which she claimed during her performance ...

are in the entertainment industry. Fay-Ann Lyons' calypsonian mother is Lady Gypsy, a soca musician (composer and performer), who won three Road March Monarch titles (2003, 2008 and 2009). Superblue recorded the song "Clear de Road" with Fay-Ann. They performed it together for the

International Soca Monarch International Soca Monarch is an annual soca music competition/fete event, the finals of which are held on every Carnival Friday (aka Fantastic Friday) in Trinidad and Tobago. Contestants in the event vie for two separate crowns or titles, the In ...

competition in 2004, placing out of the top ten. Since his Soca Monarch win in 2000, Superblue remained out of the winners' circle until 2011 when he received the SAO Hall of Fame Award for his body of work. He continues to record music and his earlier songs are considered classic soca compositions, used in Panorama competitions. He made a return to the Soca Monarch stage in 2013 with his song "Fantastic Friday," and captured the International Power Soca Monarch title in a tie with the defending champion,

Machel Montano Machel Jesus Montano (born 24 November 1974)Thompson, Dave (2002), ''Reggae & Soca Music'', Backbeat Books, , pp. 300–301. is a Trinidadian soca singer, actor, record producer and songwriter. Known for his high energy, fast-paced, and often unp ...

. His song was played over 500 times on Carnival Monday and Tuesday, beating Montano (who had fewer than 60 plays), by over 400 plays. SuperBlue is hailed as the originator of the "jump and wave" style of soca songs and is credited by the benefactor of the

, William Munro with a major role in the success of that competition. His song "Barbara" was played as background music in the 1998 film '' Side Streets''. In 2018, Montano and Superblue jointly released "Soca Kingdom" for Carnival. They dominated the Road March competition, winning with over twice as many plays as the second place song.

Discography

* ''10th Anniversary'' (Vinyl) * ''Happy Carnival'' (1995) * ''Flag Party'' (1994) * ''Bacchanal Time'' (1993) * ''Soca Matrix'' (2009) * ''Extreme Blue'' (2009) * ''Joy'' (2011)

Superblue firsts

* First calypsonian to ever perform at Wembley Convention Centre in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, UK * First Soca Monarch winner * "Bacchanal Time" and "Birthday Party" performances appeared on the first worldwide broadcast of Trinidad and Tobago Carnival via

CNN CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by the M ...

* First double winner of Soca Monarch and Road March in the same year with Bacchanal Time in 1993 * Only calypsonian to appear on ''

Sesame Street ''Sesame Street'' is an American educational children's television series that combines live-action, sketch comedy, animation and puppetry. It is produced by Sesame Workshop (known as the Children's Television Workshop until June 2000) a ...

References

External links

International Soca Monarch Promo video clip for ISM21Daily Express: Meet SuperBlue
{{Authority control 1956 births Living people 20th-century Trinidad and Tobago male singers 20th-century Trinidad and Tobago singers Calypsonians Soca musicians Trinidad and Tobago people of Grenadian descent