Lord Pretender
| Lord Pretender | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Aldric Farrell |
| Born |
8 September 1917 Tobago |
| Died | 22 January 2002 (aged 84) Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago |
| Genres | calypso, Extempo |
| Occupation(s) | Musician |
| Instruments | Vocals |
| Years active | 1929– c.1995 |
Lord Pretender (8 September 1917 – 22 January 2002) was the stage name of Aldric Farrell, M.O.M., H.B.M. a calypsonian vocalist born on the island of Tobago widely acknowledged to be a "master" of extempo, a lyrically improvised form of calypso music considered a forerunner of rap. Starting with an impromptu performance at the age of 12, his career spanned nearly seven decades until cancer of the larynx forced him to retire in the mid-1990s.
In 1957, Lord Pretender won the prestigious "Calypso King" competition. Honored by the Trinidad and Tobago government for his services to calypso in 1972, Lord Pretender went on to receive the island's Hummingbird Medal in 1994.
Farrell's mother went to the United States to look for work and left him, at a young age, with his maternal grandmother in Trinidad. He made his first public performance at the age of twelve in 1929, where he delivered a self-composed calypso about the ghost of a young girl. Early appearances quickly gained Farrell popularity and earned him the moniker "the Boy Wonder", though he soon reverted to "Pretender", a previous nickname from his school days. His grandmother did not approve of this career choice due to the "scandalous reputation" of the calypso musicians and more than once, she entered a calypso tent and dragged Pretender out mid-performance. Farrell later recalled: "I'd get two clouts in the face. My grandmother would say: 'You disgracing the family.'"
Pretender regularly performed calypso in the tents throughout Trinidad and Tobago, and his career progressed steadily during the mid-1930s as he performed side by side with stars of the calypso scene, such as Attila the Hun, Roaring Lion, and Lord Beginner. Wealth did not automatically follow success in the business; when Pretender accompanied fellow calypsonian Executor on a tour lasting over a month, he received just 60 cents and two bags of oranges as payment.
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