ADMIRAL Bailey led the charge, with his comedic banter and engaging personality, at Musical Delights held in the gardens of the Jamaica Pegasus hotel in New Kingston on Sunday evening.

The Lion’s Club of Kingston’s charity concert, which was making a comeback after a two-year hiatus due to Covid-19, saw the burly entertainer delivering his hit songs from the mid-1980s to early ’90s, much to the delight of the appreciative audience.

Before his set, Admiral Bailey gave a disclaimer that he would not be performing Jump Up due to health challenges. But, felt ‘fit’ enough to do the Della Move and introduced the ‘Samoroy’ (Samurai) dance.

“Many years ago, I was in Japan. Dem have a ting down there, weh dem call ‘samoroy’ (samurai). Most of you must be acquainted with it. It is a sword thing and I bring it back to Jamaica wid mi. I haven’t done it in years. Mi nuh too fit, but something jus’ ah tell mi say mi need fi do it. Dis one called ‘samoroy’,” said Admiral Bailey, before proceeding to gesture like a fencer to the music.

His actions were met with bouts of laughter.

The deejay said he had to tailor his set for the New Kingston audience, as some things could not be said or done at that locale.

“Mi affi lef’ dat fi [Reggae] Sumfest,” he quipped.

Think Me Did Done, God Pickney, Science Again, and No Way Nuh Better Than Yard were also part of his score sheet.

He closed with Three Little Birds in honour of Bob Marley and Reggae Month.

The performance by visually impaired singer Candy Isaacs also won the hearts of patrons. She did a medley of Don’t Worry Be Happy and Three Little Birds, as well as her original Whose That Girl.

Singers Cassanova and Traci Trae of D’Kru; Rojah, lead singer of Obessa (formerly The Maytals) and dancer-cum-deejay Chi Ching Ching gave energetic sets.

Cabaret singer Keisha Patterson showed her musical chops on Etta James’s A Sunday Kind of Love, Nancy Wilson’s (You Don’t Know) How Glad I Am and Peggy Lee’s Fever.

Pluto Shervington had the guests in a sing-along with Dat, Ram Goat Liver, and Your Honour, while George Nooks brought the curtains down on the occasion with his church-like set which included God Is Standing By and Ride Out the Storm, as well as Tribal War and Zion Gate.

Everton Pessoa, 2011 JCDC Festival Song competition and Errol Lee of Bare Essentials also made musical contributions.

Pauline Royal, president of the Lions Club of Kingston, was pleased with how the event unfolded.

“The concert was pretty good… a lot of tonight’s (Sunday’s) performers were at the 2020 staging and we enjoyed them so much, so we knew people would want to see them again. That’s why we brought some of them back, with some new faces,” Royal told the Jamaica Observer.

“Part proceeds of the concert will go to building a new and improved sight building, with new and improved equipment at the Sight Clinic at 30 Beechwood Avenue in Kingston. We want to build a much bigger and better building. The proceeds from tonight’s concert will really go a far way,” she continued.