Steve Rhodes’ sixth year commemorative photo exhibition

The formal opening of posthumous photo exhibition of the life and times of the late musician and broadcaster, Steve Bankole Omodele Rhodes was a moment of reflection on his works.

Tagged: “Steve Rhodes: Six Years After – A Commemorative Exhibition,” the exhibition which began on Thursday, May 29, 2014, at the Freedom Park, Lagos attracted many people from all walks of life.

Organised by the Steve Rhodes Foundation (SRF), the exhibition showcased the rich and resourceful collection of photographic recordings of Rhodes’ over six decades of hard working career.

Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, who declared the photo exhibition opened, described the musicologist as a brilliant musician worthy of emulation.

In his words: "We all know the contributions that Rhodes made in the music industry; I recall COJA Games in 2003, with Rhodes at work. We know his productivity and contributions to the society in general, which is what we are here to celebrate on Democracy Day.”
Also speaking, the Executive Programme Director of the Culture Advocates Caucus, CAC, Jahman Anikulapo earlier in a statement said that the exhibition was in honour of the entertainment icon, Rhodes, who died on May 29, 2008, at the age of 82.

According to Anikulapo, Rhodes brought phenomenal changes in terms of content and packaging to the entertainment industry in Nigeria. He also described him as “a great musicologist and the conscience of entertainment industry in his time, a disciplinarian and an artiste with passion for standards. He pioneered the emergence of highly educated personalities in the entertainment scene in Nigeria,” he said.

Rhodes was born on April 8, 1926 to Justice Bankole and Mrs. Mabel Jones de Rhodes in Lagos.  He had his primary education in Queen's College in Lagos. From there, he attended CMS Grammar School, Lagos and Dennis Memorial School, Onitsha for his secondary education.

He studied for 11 years in England and Germany and was trained as a musicologist in Germany. He joined the Federal Ministry of Information and became the first Nigerian Controller of Programmes of the Western Nigerian Television.
He also worked in the defunct Nigerian Broadcasting Corporation (NBC), which later became the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN).

 Rhodes founded the famous Steve Rhodes Voices (SRV) that made waves and bagged many awards in the 1970s.
The exhibition ended yesterday, June 5, 2014. Below are images from the exhibition: