CBE
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations,
and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...
(born Learie Carasco, 27 January 1938), is a pop singer, former professional bodybuilder, and author.
Biography
Wayne was born Learie Carasco in
St. Lucia
Saint Lucia ( acf, Sent Lisi, french: Sainte-Lucie) is an island country of the West Indies in the eastern Caribbean. The island was previously called Iouanalao and later Hewanorra, names given by the native Arawaks and Caribs, two Amerindia ...
. In the 1950s he emigrated to
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...
, and served two years in the
Royal Signals
The Royal Corps of Signals (often simply known as the Royal Signals – abbreviated to R SIGNALS or R SIGS) is one of the combat support arms of the British Army. Signals units are among the first into action, providing the battlefield commun ...
, most of the time in
Yorkshire
Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other English counties, functions have ...
. On returning to civilian life in
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
, he was spotted singing in a club and successfully auditioned for
record producer
A record producer is a recording project's creative and technical leader, commanding studio time and coaching artists, and in popular genres typically creates the song's very sound and structure. Virgil Moorefield"Introduction" ''The Producer as ...
Joe Meek
Robert George "Joe" Meek (5 April 1929 – 3 February 1967) was an English record producer, sound engineer and songwriter who pioneered space age and experimental pop music. He also assisted in the development of recording practices like over ...
. Renamed as Ricky Wayne (a combination of
Ricky Nelson
Eric Hilliard Nelson (May 8, 1940 – December 31, 1985) was an American musician, songwriter and actor. From age eight he starred alongside his family in the radio and television series ''The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet''. In 1957, he bega ...
and John Wayne), he released a single, "Hot Chickaroo", which was produced by Meek and on which Wayne was backed by The Fabulous Flee-Rakkers. Although the single and its follow-ups were not commercial successes, Wayne established a singing career for several years and for a while had his own show on
Radio Luxembourg
Radio Luxembourg was a multilingual commercial broadcaster in Luxembourg. It is known in most non-English languages as RTL (for Radio Television Luxembourg).
The English-language service of Radio Luxembourg began in 1933 as one of the earlies ...
Wayne was a professional bodybuilder in the 1960s and 1970s, competing in several bodybuilding competitions:
*1964 Mr Europe – FIHC, 1st
*1964 World – Universe – FIHC, 2nd
*1965 Universe – IFBB, 1st
*1966 Universe – Pro – NABBA, 2nd
*1967 Universe – IFBB, 1st
*1967 Mr World – IFBB, 1st
*1967 Mr World – IFBB, Overall Winner
*1969 Universe – IFBB, 1st
*1970 Pro Mr America – WBBG, Winner
*1970 Mr World – IFBB, 1st
*1974 Pro Mr World – WBBG, 2nd
*1981 Grand Prix California – IFBB, Did not place
Writing, journalism and publishing
Wayne is the author of numerous articles and books on bodybuilding and politics. While pursuing a professional bodybuilding career, he began to write regularly for bodybuilding magazines, particularly
Joe Weider
Joseph Weider (; November 29, 1919 – March 23, 2013) was a Canadian bodybuilder and entrepreneur who co-founded the International Federation of BodyBuilders (IFBB) alongside his brother Ben Weider. He was also the creator of Mr. Olympia, Ms ...
Flex
Flex or FLEX may refer to:
Computing
* Flex (language), developed by Alan Kay
* FLEX (operating system), a single-tasking operating system for the Motorola 6800
* FlexOS, an operating system developed by Digital Research
* FLEX (protocol), a ...
'' in the 1970s and '80s (two separate periods of employment). He also wrote for
Dan Lurie
Dan Lurie (April 1, 1923 – November 6, 2013) was an American bodybuilder, television personality, entrepreneur, and world record holder. He was regarded as a pioneer in physical fitness and a founding father of bodybuilding. Lurie had won the ...
's ''
Muscular Development
''Muscular Development'' is an American fitness and bodybuilding magazine first published in 1964. It was founded by Bob Hoffman.
History
John Grimek was the editor from 1964 until its sale in 1986 to Twinlab.
'' magazine in 1994–95.
Wayne moved back to St. Lucia (where he now resides) and in 1986, in collaboration with his now wife, former US bodybuilder Mae Mollica Sabbagh, founded the Star Publishing Company. Its publications include a newspaper, ''St Lucia Star'', and two magazines, ''Tropical Traveller'' and ''She Caribbean''. The ''St Lucia Star'' is a hard-hitting controversial newspaper that has incurred the wrath of both major political parties on the island.
Wayne served as an opposition party senator until 1998, when he was booted out of the Senate by then Prime Minister
Kenny Anthony
Kenny Davis Anthony (born 8 January 1951Government page on Anthony .) is a for his opposition of a government guarantee of a failing St. Lucian airline.
Wayne is the host of a politically charged local television talk show, simply called ''Talk'', which features on DBS TV for a Thursday-night slot of two and a half hours. He is known for aggressive interviews and fiery comments about various ills on the island. He rails about press freedom, whether locally or internationally.
Bibliography
The
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The librar ...
lists five books in its collection:
*''It'll Be Alright In The Morning'' (1977)
*''Women of the Olympia'' (1981) with George Snyder
*''Muscle Wars'' (1985)
*''Posedown!(Muscletalk With The Champs)'' (1987) with George Snyder
*''Foolish Virgins'' (2002)
Wayne has also written:
*"Arms and Shoulders Above The Rest" (1976)
*''The Bodymen (1978)
*''The Bodymen II'' (1979)
*''3 More Reps!'' (Books 1, 2 and 3 with George Snyder) 978 – 1980
Award
In 2007, Wayne was honoured as an
Officer of the Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations,
and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...
in the
Queen's Birthday Honours
The Birthday Honours, in some Commonwealth realms, mark the reigning British monarch's official birthday by granting various individuals appointment into national or dynastic orders or the award of decorations and medals. The honours are pres ...