When was your first Battle?
Now that’s going back a few years, but I think I was first involved when I was about 14, working for Fotosound selling Fuji film on my roller-skates. The Battle was a lot longer in those days, so it was quite exhausting skating up and down the Esplanade. But the upside was that you never got to skate on that particular road during the rest of the year, so that was always something to look forward to, along with the event itself.
How have you been involved since then?
I’ve been really fortunate over the years to have had various roles in the Battle, all of which consisted of dressing up in various costumes and having great fun with the crowd. After my roller-skating days I was involved with the St Helier floats for a few years, culminating in a rock’n’roll float where I played Elvis and had a good old bop around the arena. Also, back in the late 1990s, I used to run a great entertainment venue called Rock Galaxy, so we entered for a few years and actually won the commercial award.
What are you doing this year?
Last year I got a phone call from my old school friend Marcus Davies, asking me to be the Mad Hatter on his St Clement float, Wonderland. That was a real blast – albeit involving a very big and heavy hat and hot suit. He seems to think I did a good job, so has asked me back again this year as the swashbuckling villain Captain Hook, me hearties!
What’s your favourite thing about Battle?
The whole thing is a total buzz and you are working (if you can call it that) with great people and fantastic crowds so you get great pleasure out of it. The best part for me nowadays, though, is the Moonlight Parade, as everyone involved is really relaxed as the judging is over and done with, so people can just let their hair down and enjoy the moment. Plus the floats really come alive for the night-time parade with the music and amazing lights built into them.
What was your favourite float to work on?
Now that really is a tough one, because there have been so many over the years that were all impressive. But if I had to choose then there would be two. The first would be last year’s St Clement float, an amazing design, and aside from the hot suit and heavy hat I really had a blast being the Mad Hatter. My other favourite was our Rock Galaxy float, because none of our staff had ever been involved with the Battle but they put so much effort into converting this big truck into something special. We had a big New York Skyline as the backdrop, all decorated in flowers, and we managed to lift a Harley Davidson onto the side, along with a DJ console, and we basically performed all our acts from the Rock Galaxy such as Elvis, Showaddy Waddy, The Beatles, Abba, and the Village People, to name but a few. The crowd loved it, but we did get a bit of a telling off as we had a huge nightclub system on the truck which was a bit too loud, even by Battle standards!
The best float you’ve ever seen?
It’s hard to remember them all from over the years, but the one that sticks in my mind the most was last year’s St Clement float, with all the intricate detail and amazing floral displays.
Sum up the Battle in three words?
Simply the best.
