FORMER BAND MANAGER and restaurateur David Theophilus Hooper, 58, passed away on Friday night.
Hooper, who was released from prison last November after his lawyers succesfully appealed an eight-year term for drug trafficking, died at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH) where he was detained following a stroke he suffered last Sunday.
One of his brothers, Alwyn Hooper, said David suffered from high blood pressure and that since his release from Dodds Prisons had “pushed himself too hard”.
“He was trying to set up another restaurant at the back of the police station [Tudor Street] and he was working around the clock to make it happen,” his brother said.
Hooper was band manager of Hi-Times and later Coalishun, and operated a restaurant in Bay Street in The City when he was tried and convicted on drug trafficking charges.
“We must not dwell on the mistakes he made, but David did a lot of positive things, especially for the music industry. He just fought too hard,” Alwyn told the SUNDAY SUN yesterday.
The Court of Appeal quashed a High Court drug conviction against Hooper after citing a judge’s error, noting that because of the two years plus spent behind bars, it would not order a retrial.
Meanwhile, former Coalishun bandmate Njeri, who resides in St Lucia, said yesterday that Hooper was exceptionally efficient as a band manager and had solid connections that earned the band much respect locally and abroad.
“Some people in entertainment are meant to be musicians, some sound engineers, some technicians. David was a band manager and facilitator, and he was good at it,” Njeri, a former lead vocalist, recalled.
“Many people in the music fraternity called him ‘Uncle’ because he got things done. They could call on him to do almost anything.
“We did several tours together – St Lucia and Grenada carnivals, Labour Day events in New York . . . and every year on the day before Kadooment we used to play at a fete hosted by Keith and Kay Robertson, which was attended by the who’s who of Barbados.
“He had those kinds of connections and knew the music business very well,” stated Njeri, who now sings and produces gospel music.
“My sincerest condolences to his family,” he added.
Former Coalishun bassist David Jordan also called Hooper “the engine that held the band together”.
“The thing that I will always remember of Hoops was his spirit, fortitude and generosity, that large, booming voice and quick wit . . . .
“My heartfelt condolences to Charmaine and his family. I am proud to have been [his] friend,” Jordan added.
Hooper, of Ealing Park, Christ Church, was married and had three children. (TS/RJ)
