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Mr. Steel on SellaBand
Biography Mr. Steel
Mr. Steel is the stage name of Trinidad born steelpannist Kenneth Goddard Jr. As a boy he made his first steelpan from empty tin cans, 8 cans each with a different tone, together forming the scale of C, on which he played his first songs. At the Christmas fair of his primary school he surprised everyone by playing a repertoire of Christmas carols on his home made instrument.
He auditioned for the famous Hatters steel band and was immediately selected for the stage side, the 25 best players of the entire orchestra. Here he received musical coaching in traditional Caribbean music, but also in classical and pop music. Together with his brother Andy they were known as ‘the double tenor brothers’, because of their groovy dance moves and funky flicks. As members of Panorama winners Hatters steel band, playing alongside Ken ‘Professor’ Philmore they toured through South America, Canada and the United States.
His idols were Earth Wind & Fire and the artists of Motown, like Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, Smokey Robinson. The arrangements of Stevie Wonder were his favourites because they presented such a musical challenge. Mr. Steel migrated to Holland in the late seventies and signed a contract with the Dutch Rhythm Steel and Showband. Touring through the whole of Europe he performed with artists like Boney M, Hot Chocolate and James Last. He also performed for the Royal family of Monaco, and did a guest appearance at the Eurovision song contest in The Hague.
He left the Dutch Rhythm Steel and Showband and founded Steeletto. With Steeletto he introduced A DIFFERENT STYLE OF STEEL, a combination of soul steel and funk. He performed at festivals with the likes of Third World and Manu Dibango. For the KLM Royal Dutch Airlines he did the music for a promotion video for the Dutch Antilles.
For the last couple of years Mr. Steel has been really into the Dance music, listening to tracks from top DJs like Tiësto, Armin van Buuren, Ferry Corsten en Sander Kleinenberg, he has created a sound which he calls SteElectro, a combination of steel-drum and Electro. The tracks Garden Party and Popcorn are good examples of the SteElectro sound. As freestyle steeldrummer he has performed with various DJs in the Dutch club circuit
Kenneth -Mr. Steel- Goddard recorded with Hatters Steelband, Dutch Rhythm Steel & Showband, Steeletto and Sundance. As studio musician he has worked with i.e. Boney M, The Dolly Dots, Albert West, Normaal and Herman Finkers. With Popcorn, his first cd as a solo artist, Mr. Steel got to number 70 in the Dutch top 100 charts.