EASTON Lee, Marjorie Whylie, Leonie Forbes Harvey, Oliver Samuels, Peter Ashbourne and the group Third World will tonight be presented with the Prime Minister’s Award for Excellence at the Independence Gala to be held on the lawns of Jamaica House.

The son of a Chinese father and multi-racial Jamaican mother, Easton Lee was born in Wait-A-Bit, Trelawny. He is a well-known actor, orator, playwright, poet, television and radio director and producer, and communications consultant.

Highly respected in the field of communications, Leonie Forbes Harvey has worked extensively as a consultant and lecturer with many large Jamaican private sector entities.

Also a top local theatre, television and film actress, Forbes Harvey’s talent has also taken her to the stages of the UK, Canada and the USA, playing in over 45 productions.

Well known as a music educator, composer and arranger, musicologist and bandleader, Marjorie Whylie is credited with an expert knowledge of the music of Jamaica and the Caribbean. She heads the Music Unit at the University of the West Indies, Mona, and lectures on Caribbean Music and the use of music as a catalyst in the learning experience.

Born in Tremolesworth, St Mary in 1948, Oliver Samuels received his theatrical baptism during weekend yard concerts in his home town. These concerts were true cultural affairs, including poetry and story-telling and honed his budding skills as a theatre professional.

At 22 years of age, he decided to see what the theatre mecca of Kingston had to offer. In Kingston he auditioned and became part of a new theatre school being run by the Little Theatre Movement and under the tutelage of his mentor, Louise Bennett-Coverley embarked on his career.

Peter Ashbourne-Firman, popularly known as Peter Ashbourne, is perhaps Jamaica’s most complete musician. A composer, arranger and songwriter, Ashbourne is also an outstanding performer on all keyboards, from the acoustic piano to the synthesizer. Once a child prodigy on the violin, Peter is equally adept at playing classical, jazz, pop or reggae and was a pioneer vocal arranger in the golden era of Jamaica’s rocksteady music.

The band Third World was formed in 1973 and in 1974 earned good reviews for their playing of reggae and funk.

The original group comprised guitarist, cellist and singer Stephen “Cat” Coore, musician Colin Leslie, Michael “Ibo” Cooper on keyboards and vocals, basist Richie Daley, drummer Carl Barovier, percussionist Irvin “Carrot” Jarrett and lead vocalist Milton “Prilly” Hamilton. The band went through a change which saw new drummer Willie Stewart and new lead singer William “Bunny Rugs” Clark. This combination of “Rugs”, “Richie”, “Cat”, “Carrot”, “Willie” and “Ibo” proved to be the formula for success.

Since those early days in the 1970s, Third World has not looked back. Faces have changed during the years, but the same Third World spirit and musical force has remained.