Alison Hinds

Alison Amanda Hinds (born 1 June 1970) is a British-born Bajan soca artist based in Barbados.[1] She is one of the most popular soca singers in the world and has been given the nickname the "Queen of Soca".

Alison Hinds
Birth name	Alison Amanda Hinds
Also known as	Alison Amanda Hinds-Walcott Caribbean Queen Of Soca.
Born	(1970-06-01) 1 June 1970 London, England
Origin	Bridgetown, Barbados
Genres	Soca, dancehall, R&B
Occupation(s)	Recording artist
Years active	1987-Present
Labels	Black Coral label
Associated acts	Alison Hinds (Show/Band) 2005-present, Square One (band) 1987-2004
Website	alisonhinds.com

Biography

Alison Hinds was born in London on 1 June 1970 and grew up in Plaistow.[2][3] Both of her parents were from the island of Barbados, her father a worker at Ford's Dagenham plant.[2] When she was aged 11 her parents split up and she migrated to Barbados with her mother.[2][4] She competed in the Richard Stoute teen talent contest in 1987, finishing third.[5] She was a lead vocalist in the popular band Square One, joining in 1987 and recording several albums with the band before leaving in 2004 after her daughter Saharan was born.[5][6][7][8][9] She won the Barbados Song Contest in 1992 with the duet with John King "Hold You in a Song", and the Road March in 1996 and 1997 and Party Monarch competition in Barbados in 1997.[2][4][5][10] She is known as the "Queen of Soca".[2][4][7]

Currently Alison Hinds lives with her family, husband Edward Walcott and daughter, on a privately owned horse farm, which her husband manages, in Barbados.[2][4] She has her own band, "The Alison Hinds Show", formed in 2005, with Hinds the main singer and most of the other members of the band young dancers and musicians.[4] After returning to music with a vocal contribution to a remix of Kevin Lyttle's "Turn Me On",[11] she returned to the soca scene with the hit song "Roll It Gal," which praises women's independence in lyrics about female empowerment.[2][6][7][10] The song was a huge hit throughout the Caribbean, and was released in the UK in 2007 to coincide with the release of her début album.[12][13] She also recorded a collaboration with Machel Montano for the remix of "Roll It Gal".[6]

Hinds' debut solo album Soca Queen was released in October 2007. Her latest album Caribbean Queen was released in 2010 and contains collaborations with Shaggy, Richie Spice, and Jah Cure, with whom she collaborated on the single "Team Up" in 2009.[14][15] She continues to tour worldwide and has performed at many of the West Indian Carnivals and festivals including Sumfest,[4] and the West Indian American Carnival in Brooklyn.[10]

On 11 November 2011 Alison Hinds was one of many Barbadian entertainers shown on the Where in the World is Matt Lauer? segment on NBC.[16]

Discography

Albums

Year	Album	Peak positions
		U.S.	CAN	AUS	UK	FRA	GER	IRE	NZ	ITA	JAP
2007	Soca Queen 1st studio album Released: 22 October 2007	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2010	Caribbean Queen 2nd studio album Released: 25 June 2010	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—

Singles

Year	Title	Chart positions								Album
		UK	US R&B	NZ	IRE	SWE	NET	FIN	SWI
2005	"Roll It Gal"	135[17]	52[18]	—	—	—	—	—	—	Soca Queen
	"Thundah"	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
	"The More You Get"	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2010	"King and Queen" (with Richie Spice)	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	Caribbean Queen
	"Can't Let My Luv Go" (with Shaggy)	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—

Guest appearances

• "Bring It Superstar Mix" - Lalchan Babwa (Hunter) ft. Alison Hinds, Andy Singh, Bunji Garlin & Ziggy Rankin
• "Ah Bottle of Rum" - Lalchan Babwa (Hunter) ft. Alison Hinds, Peter Ram
• "Roll Up De Tassa Remake" - Drupatee Ramgoonai ft. Alison Hinds

See also

• List of Barbadians

References

1. Jeffries, David. "Biography: Alison Hinds". Allmusic. Retrieved 13 April 2010.
2. Batey, Angus (2007) "Notting Hill Carnival: Alison Hinds ready to reign at Carnival", Daily Telegraph, 23 August 2007, retrieved 2010-10-30
3. Kuss, Malena (2006) Music in Latin America and the Caribbean: An Encyclopedic History: Performing the Caribbean Experience v. 2, University of Texas Press, ISBN 978-0-292-70951-5, p. 350
4. Collinder, Avia (2007) "Alison Hinds - Soca Mama Archived 12 August 2011 at the Wayback Machine", Jamaica Gleaner, 15 July 2007, retrieved 2010-10-30
5. Thompson, Dave (2002) Reggae & Caribbean Music, Backbeat Books, ISBN 0-87930-655-6, p. 275-6
6. Anglin-Christie, Kavelle (2006) "Alison Hinds rolls it on her own Archived 12 August 2011 at the Wayback Machine", Jamaica Gleaner, 23 April 2006, retrieved 2010-10-30
7. Meschino, Patricia (2008) "Alison Hinds: Coronating Her Majesty", Vibe, February 2008, retrieved 2010-10-30
8. Springer, Michelle (2010) "Back to Square One", NATIONNews.com, 24 July 2010, retrieved 2010-10-30
9. "Soca star says farewell", BBC, 13 December 2004, retrieved 2010-10-30
10. Pareles, Jon (2008) "Happiness Abounds, With Extra for the Ladies", The New York Times, 27 August 2008, retrieved 2010-10-30
11. "Soca Queen Ready To 'Roll It' For Fans At Irie Jamboree 2k8 - August 31, 2008, Queens, New York Archived 17 June 2011 at the Wayback Machine", Jamaicans.com, 2008, retrieved 2010-10-30
12. "Caribbean Flavour Series- Alison Hinds, a soca role model Archived 12 August 2011 at the Wayback Machine", Jamaica Gleaner, 11 February 2007, retrieved 2010-10-30
13. Lawrence, Eddy (2007) "Alison Hinds: interview Archived 17 October 2012 at the Wayback Machine", Time Out, 20 August 2007, retrieved 2010-10-30
14. Jackson, Steven (2010) "Alison Hinds aim to top Jamaica chart", Jamaica Observer, 21 March 2010, retrieved 2010-10-30
15. "Jah Cure And Alison Hinds Team Up Archived 17 June 2011 at the Wayback Machine", Jamaicans.com, 31 December 2009, retrieved 2010-10-30
16. Matt, Giada shake it for Where in the World, 11 December 2011, Where in the World is Matt Lauer?, NBC
17. "Chart Log UK – Chart Coverage and Record Sales 2007". Zobbel.de. Retrieved 29 July 2020.

External links

• Official website
• Interview with Alison Hinds
• Bajan culture and Entertainment
• Hinds