• English
  • Italian

Papa Winnie

Winston Carlisle Peters, aka Pope Winnie, was born in the Grenadine islands in the southern Caribbean Sea near the coast of Venezuela. Sun, sea and music have therefore been part of his life since he was a child. In 1986 Pope Winnie decided to come to Europe to offer his music. After having played in the first Milanese reggae group, IRIE, he continued his musical activity as a soloist and was hired by Epic Records with which he recorded his first single. “April”, released in December 1988, immediately proves to be a success thanks to the skilful blend of reggae, rap and pop music which is immediately appreciated in Italy.
A year later he released the album “Rootsie & Boopsie”, dedicated to his daughters. The album jumps into the Italian top ten and is invited as a foreign guest to the Sanremo Festival.

In 1990 he recorded the second LP “One Blood, One Love” where he tackled topics such as racism, equality between peoples, freedom and respect among peoples, conquering new sympathies in the musical world. Also this year he participates in the Sanremo Festival by presenting with great success the English version of “A” paired with Francesco Salvi and he performs in numerous important television programs such as the Festivalbar and Miss Italy. His “happy sound” and his high-level dance-reggae spread also in Germany and Brazil where he also made some singles for the dance-hall market, obtaining well-deserved acclaim and great results from the sales point of view. 1993, with the MCA / Universal label, the third album “You are my Sunshine” is released which, with the single of the same name, immediately enters the Austrian and German top ten and obtains the platinum record in Korea.

Three years later, always for the American label, “All of my Heart” was released and Papa Winnie asserted himself more and more as an artist of international level. After a long absence, Papa Winnie returned with a new band with bassist, drummer, guitarist, keyboard player and two choristers. Or it is proposed for shows on a stand alone. His new show is an inviting dance hall between the 1980s and the new sounds of the third millennium. A show that proposes its successes together with the reggae classics with historical songs of pop music arranged in a Caribbean key.