News: Poison is No More

One of Trinidad and Tobago’s largest and most popular bands, Poison is no more; bandleader Michael Headley confirmed yesterday that the band has been dissolved.

Poison bandleader Micheal Headley yesterday confirmed that his large-band famous for its huge numbers has been dissolved.

The dissolution comes on the heels of the announcement of the formation of a new eight-member group, Pulse 8, all formerly of Poison.

At the forefront of Pulse 8 is Poison's long-serving communications officer, Meg Cheekes with her well-known Cheek 2 Cheek section.

Citing frustration with the length of time it takes for bands to get on to the Queen's Park Savannah stage and the fact that there are penalties for not sticking to the prescribed route, Headley confirmed "Poison is no longer coming on the road".

Poison came to the fore in 1990 when key members of the popular band Savage split into the Barbarossa and Poison factions.

The latter, headed by Headley, became increasingly popular with a record 30 sections and just under 7,000 masqueraders for Carnival 2006 with the presentation "Dreams: Beyond Your Wildest".

However, it was not without its detractors with criticisms that the band was too large and took too long to cross the stage.