LESLIE LEWIS personifies a man who believes in the axiom: It’s not the years in your life that count; it’s the life in your years that do. Lewis worked in Guyana from 1960 to 1969, then for another 38 years in the import/export and freight forwarding business in the United States of America before retiring.

But he is not the kind of person who sees himself staying at home and doing nothing much, and so, at 67, the former export manager is now pouring his characteristic energy into an endeavour that is as dynamic as dynamic  can get — the world of musical entertainment, particularly of the Rap Music and Rhythm and Blues (R&B) genre.

Lewis was in Guyana recently on holiday and took time off to promote ‘Electrik Red’, a Los Angeles-based  R&B girl group of which his daughter is a part.

‘Electrik Red’, a four-member group, was last year credited with taking mainstream R&B music to an entirely new level. The members are Lesley Lewis (Lewis’ daughter); Binkie Reevey; Sarah Rosette; and Naomi Allen.

They swagger like the toughest rappers, and croon the sweetest love songs was how these girls were described in a 2009 review of US R&B groups. They were said to have filled the gap left in the history of American R&B girl groups after the disbanding of the famed ‘Destiny’s Child’.

Lewis is hoping to bring Electrik Red to Guyana later this year, and he had been making the rounds with local entertainment organizers to tie up such a gig. His rounds on behalf of ‘Electrik Red’ also included promoting the group, which is how he ended up at the offices of the Guyana Chronicle.

Generally, it is usually accepted that for some people educated in traditional fields such as Accounting,  Engineering, Law etc! and retired,  becoming an Assistant  Business Manager  of a high-profile music group (even at the informal level) can be like an old dog learning new tricks… difficult.

There is need for an energetic entrepreneurial spirit: The group is just like a start-up company, and a manager usually needs specific sets of skills and to keep updating his/her skills so that there is no gulf between the needs and expectations of the artistes and the capabilities of the manager.

‘Electrik Red’  has their own manager, but Lewis, who is a trained accountant and says he is a semi-manager, has learnt many elements of the business, particularly publicity and press relations. “The music industry business is a very dynamic business, and even fickle at times,” he said, adding that being dad of  the very talented Lesley, who  has been in show business since the age of six, makes promoting ‘Electrik Red’  a true labour of love.

Lewis is formerly from Laluni Street, in the Queenstown neighbourhood. His parents were Stanley and Winifred Lewis and he grew up with four siblings: Three sisters, namely Lynette, Lauren and Petula, and one brother, Laurie (former Commissioner of Police).

He attended the now defunct Cambridge Academy, and excelled at all the sports, including cricket, but mainly football. A staunch Anglican, he was also a member of the St. George’s Cathedral’s choir for sixteen years and was a vocal soloist for ten of them. He and a cousin named Oswald Bowen won the vocal duet at the National Musical Festival for three consecutive years. Still a member of the choir, Lewis says he makes it his duty to sing with the current members whenever he is in Guyana.

On completing school, he worked at the then Guyana Rice Marketing Board (GRMB) from 1960 to 1969 before migrating to the U.S. He married the former Marlene Carter, an Essequibian,  in the U.S. in 1973. Lesley was born some time later. He also fathered Sonia, Marlene’s older daughter, before the marriage.

Emerging in 2009, the all-girl ‘Electrik Red’ is a major act  at concerts and shows throughout the United States of America and in the United Kingdom and other countries in Europe, including Holland.

Lewis and his wife, Marlene, are present at most of these  shows, and are usually backstage where they get to mix with famous R&B singers and industry giants,  and where he sells CDs of the group’s  first Album, ‘How To Be A Lady’. Their second is due out any day now.

They are also around, but in the background, when the girls are making music videos.

He sees himself as a father-figure for all four members of the group. “Myself and my wife  are very supportive of the girls, especially offstage; we make sure they get to eat good home-cooked food as often as they can,” he said, adding: “Cooking is my hobby, and those girls love my dishes.”

He fancies himself a specialist in whipping up an original Guyanese cook-up “with plenty obstacles.” Next in line is a “mean pepperpot;” then deep-fried banga mary and/or
butterfish, served hot. And just about anything other dish that provides a mouth-watering experience and some dedicated “nyamming,” he said.

He ensures that he keeps fit by exercising regularly at the Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) Gym near his home.

The energetic Leslie Lewis is hoping to get the four girls in Guyana some time in August so that the locals can experience their talent. And once that happens, he and Marlene will be there, as usual, right in the thick of things.