Throwback Thursdays: Bankie Banx – “Down on the Corner”

Words by Ravi Lloyd—

Up-and-coming film director Ravi Lloyd is our man in Anguilla, consistently keeping us up with the runnings on his home island. For Ravi’s latest work, check Anguillan reggae singer Omari Banks’ “Jehovah Message” video, shot in locations all around AXA. With that clip having just seen release, and Moonsplash—the annual Anguilla music festival founded and run by Omari’s father, Bankie Banx—set to kick off, Ravi revisits Bankie’s “Down On The Corner” video, shot on Anguilla in 1984.

These are the golden days of the bushman in Anguilla. A time I only know from my father’s stories of farming, the Natural Foods store and community ital pots in The Valley, Anguilla’s main town. Some of the older rastaman are present in this video, skankin heavy like they do with dem natty bongos. Notice the heavy threads in the video—most notably natty dread in the intro with the round and colorful frames clearly before his time.

This video is set at Bankie’s old place where he used to hold his jams on the road to the Farrington from the Valley. “Major road ahead,” a sign in the video reads, while a woman walks her goats across. For Anguilla this is still one of our major roads, and has since been developed for commercial land. Bankie’s place is no longer there: he has since moved to The Dune Preserve, where he holds his festival, Moonsplash, every year. This video is the jam and reminds me of what we were trying to do with the “Jahovah Message” video, but you can never beat shooting on film.