Clive Pringle organises club at MXIII

Mel Cooke, Gleaner Writer

Clive 'Kubba' Pringle left Negril for the United States as a child, but he always dreamed of returning to Jamaica to run a business. He did, establishing the MXIII venue in the West End (now One Love Drive) in 1991.

The name is homage to four outstanding black men, the 'MX' representing Malcolm X and the 'III' for three other Ms - Martin Luther King, Marcus Garvey and Bob Marley.

Ironically, although he is from Jamaica, Pringle tells The Gleaner he did not learn about Marcus Garvey until he was in the US. "They had a black radio station named WLIB. I heard this man on the radio," Pringle said. The disc jockey was playing a Malcolm X speech and an intrigued Pringle went on to find out more about him - and encountered Marcus Garvey in the process.

"Malcolm X opened up my eyes to Marcus. As a kid growing up in Jamaica, they did not teach about Marcus," he said.

MXIII was opened in 1991 and has hosted a number of events since, although Pringle says it is only now getting to the stage he wants it to be at. "It was supposed to be an amphitheatre for shows, plays and other cultural types of events," he said. Recently, through Private Sector Development Programme (PSDP) funding, he has been able to upgrade the facility, and Pringle hopes to put in a club by August, "so I am not under the constraints of the Noise Abatement Act".

"People don't want to stop partying at midnight," Pringle said.

He easily reels off a list of outstanding entertainers who have performed at MXIII - Buju Banton, Steel Pulse, Shabba Ranks, Burning Spear, Bunny Wailer, I-Threes, the Marley family, Beenie Man, Bounty Killer and Wyclef Jean. And Pringle recalls a special moment when he heard a star.

"We were doing Negril Salute and we had Tony Rebel. He said he had two youths to bring on stage, Deuteronomy and Garnet Silk," Pringle said. Silk sang Seven Spanish Angels for an enthralled crowd and, when he came off the stage, Pringle said he told Silk that he was a star.

The first performer at MXIII was Charlie Chaplin, and Pringle says next year, the 20th anniversary of the Bob Marley Birthday Bash will be staged from February 3-6. One staging of the Marley celebration, coming after he received his Hollywood star, pulled in a particularly huge crowd that approached the venue's 6,000-person limit.

Also, Pringle said, "Shabba Ranks bring it close". So did a concert with Barrington Levy, Lady Saw, Capleton and Glen Washington.

Another regular show was 'Reggae by the Sea' and a Shocking Vibes celebration.

Still, Pringle says that as manager of the Norman Manley Beach Park for the past six years "that is basically where my energy is". However, he says that, with the recent upgrades, "MXIII is really nice now. When I really start up again, it will not be for one or two shows a year. It will be open every day, as a business, so people can come".