Friday, June 19, 1998
By FRANKA PHILIP
Features Desk
"HER voice is so haunting, it has a waif-like quality," said Express
Editor-at-Large Keith Smith. "Mavis is out of this world, her performances
always move me."
Smith was once so overwhelmed by John's singing that during one of her
performances at Deluxe Cinema several years ago, he stood at the edge of the
stage with tears streaming down his face, begging her to sing more of his
favourite song, "Come By Here".
Certainly, for Smith and the others who followed Mavis John's career during the
1960s and 1970s, her upcoming concert, Overdue, couldn't have a more fitting
title.
"I knew I had to do it," said John. "Overdue just means it's
something I had to do for a long time."
In the last two years, Mavis John has had a renaissance of sorts. After enjoying
immense popularity over 20 years ago with songs like "Peace and Love",
"The Sun Didn't Shine", "We're Gonna Make It", "How Can
I Love Again", "I Will Be Your Friend", and the ever popular
"You Are What Love Is", a duet with ex-husband David Elcock, John
stepped away from the limelight and devoted herself to her teaching career.
Now she is gently stepping back into the limelight.
"I feel like Mavis John at crossroads, like if I'm about to close one
chapter in my life and move on to another," she said. "I know
somewhere around the corner I have to step out of my teaching career and back
into singing again."
John stayed away from the stage when she realised she couldn't manage both
singing and teaching. There were times, however, when she felt the old yearning
for the stage, but it never happened. She finally got the chance to come back in
1996 when she starred in the dramatic production Shades of I-She.
The production highlighted the plight of abused women through poetry and song
and won the 1996 Cacique Award for Best Original Music.
I-She played to audiences all over the country, and while it spread the
anti-abuse message, it also served notice that Mavis John was back.
I-She was intensely emotional for John, who had been through a traumatic
divorce and for years was the topic of gossip. During one performance, John was
caught up in the sadness of the music and she hit out at those who had once
maligned her. From their reactions as she spoke of her pain, it was clear that
some in the audience knew she was speaking about them.
"A lot of us talk sisterhood but even today, I would be walking down the
street and I would see some women's heads move in a 360-degree turn," she
said.
"They would make remarks about being a lesbian and give interpretations
about why my marriage broke up.
"I remember one member of my family asking me why I don't leave Trinidad.
But after a while you realise you have to go through these experiences because
they make you much stronger."
John is now revelling in the joy of being a grandmother. She spends a lot of her
time cuddling and pampering her three- month-old granddaughter, Rachel.
"It's such a joy, it's almost as if I made her. It's things like this make
you spiritually strong," she said. "Some people have a lot of
children, but I have one son and one granddaughter and I feel so blessed."
John is also looking forward to a positive future in music.
"If the opportunity comes I would love to record again," she said.
"All the time I was off the scene, people were calling me and offering me
music to do; there's always been encouragement. Some people would say things
like God would smite you because he's given you an ability to do something and
you're not doing it. "I enjoy singing, but before, I did not do singing my
way, I always did it someone else's way. But now I have to come and do it my
way."
The concert Overdue will be her first attempt to get on stage and do it her way.
It is being produced by the Collective, the group which produced I-She.
"Based on people's response, we decided to have the concert. We chose a
date and a venue, now we're working to pull it off." From July 2 to 4, John
will be in concert at the Little Carib Theatre, Woodbrook. She will be joined by
some friends like actor/singer John Isaacs, singer Jenny Archer, arranger Carl
"Beaver" Henderson and, if all goes well, singer Ella Andall.
"I hope all the people who have been encouraging me and urging me to
perform again come out to support the concert. This is for them, because it
really is long overdue."