Patrick Gonsalves: A Berbice Musician

The late Patrick Alphanso Gonsalves was a Guyanese recording artist who was born on the 25th December, 1948 to the late Dolly and Francisco Gonsalves.

He hailed from Plantation Ross, on the West Coast of Berbice and was fondly referred to as Patto.

He was described as a very humble and loving man.

His parents had 11 children and he was the 6th child for his parents.

He grew up with his parents and siblings at Plantation Ross home.

As it relates to his education, he attended the No. 29 Government school on the West Coast of Berbice.

According to his sister, he was a lover of music and sports. As such he ran and won many mile races.

She stated that he played various musical instruments.

At age 15, after an altercation with a relative, he migrated to Georgetown. “He (Patrick) had fought with a relative and when it got to my Mother’s hearing, she was pissed and wanted to flog him. However Patrick at age 15 got away and left the county of Berbice for Georgetown. He never returned until mom died in 1968,” his sister recalled.

While living in Georgetown Patrick worked for the Rio Cinema, for a lengthy period.

He became a musician, played the guitar, and co-founded the ‘Mischievous Guys Band’ with Lionel Abel and another friend.

He was very passionate about music and playing musical instruments (especially the guitar). Patrick wanted to give back to the community he grew up in, as such he conducted music lessons there he taught youths in the West Berbice area how to play musical instruments such as the guitar, and piano amongst others.

His music was popular during the 1970s.

He wrote the song ‘Honey Honey’ amongst others.

He also migrated to Canada and had a music tour during the late 1980s. After the tour Patrick returned to Guyana, however, his friends remained in Canada.

The Mischievous Guys was a top band that captured the local grassroot interpretation of the early 70s Jamaican hit ‘Beat Down Babylon’ by Junior Byles.

Mischievous Guys had emerged from Curtis & the MGs, owned by Curtis Archer of Charles Town, and managed by Desmond Fraser, Lionel Abel who wrote ‘Lonely man’ started with the MGs as a drummer, another band member Patrick (Patto) Gonsalves wrote ‘Honey Honey.’

When he returned, he married Winifred Jackson and their union bore seven (7) children, of which one is late.

Gonsalves and his first wife (Winifred) got separated and he later returned to Berbice and married a woman from No.8 Village, who he lived with until he got ill.

He was a Christian and attended the Freedom Life Ministries, at No.9 on the West Coast of Berbice with his sister and wife.

“After he became sick he went back to Georgetown. There he reunited with his first wife and kids. They took care of him, until his demise on December 25th, 2022,” his sister Hyacinth told this publication. He was then laid to rest on Saturday, January 07th, 2023.