George's so much, they want to come back to play at the same venue, according to Mr. Eddie DeMello who organised Saturday night's sell-out concert.

Mr. DeMello was the first local concert promoter to use Penno's Wharf for a show featuring international singing stars. And it was the first time a major concert has been held in the Old Town.

Mr. DeMello said yesterday the concert was a sell-out with an estimated 3,000 people flocking to see Byron Lee and the Dragonaires, best known for their number-one hit `Wine Down and Touch Your Toes'. Jamaican-born Byron Lee founded soca music, a mix of soul and calypso.

The show was opened by the local reggae band Jahstice shortly after 8 p.m.

"We certainly could not have accommodated more people,'' said Mr. DeMello, well known for his promotion of closed circuit championship boxing fights.

"It was a real fantastic crowd.'' St. George's Mayor the Wor. Henry Hayward, who went on stage to welcome the crowd, said afterwards: "People behaved and everything seemed to go smoothly.

"We will be assessing the situation to see whether we'll have them here again.'' He added the Corporation of St. George's was also considering Ordnance Island as a concert venue.

Mr. DeMello said he chose Penno's Wharf because he thought it would create a good atmosphere.

He added: "The acoustics were very good -- the area lends itself nicely to good sound, with one building on one side and the customs hall at the top and the rest of the area surrounded by the sea.'' Mr. DeMello added the fact that Byron Lee plays in sets was an advantage to concession stands, who reported a booming business.

A group raising money for the hospital's extended care unit and the Lion's Club had the major food and beverage stands, which were inside the customs hall.

Mr. DeMello said concert promoters were having to shop around for venues as Bermuda did not have a custom built concert hall.

BAA had been used in the past, but people complained about the bad acoustics and heat.

Soca concerts have been held at Dockyard in front of the Clocktower for the past few years, proving very successful.

The National Stadium was the venue for this summer's Sunsplash Reggae Festival and for last week's concert by the family of reggae legend the late Bob Marley.

But numerous noise complaints were made by Devonshire residents about both concerts. And concert promoter Mr. Choy Aming said he lost thousands of dollars when hundreds of people burrowed under fences surrounding the stadium to see Sunsplash.

Mr. DeMello noted Saturday night's concert was also not without its problems.

He said a few people were caught slicing the tarpaulins which had been put up around the wharf to block the view of outsiders. But security guards had found out in time to stop others sneaking through the slits and over the portable fences.

WINE DOWN! -- Cindy Lewis, one of three vocalists in soca king Byron Lee's (right) band, gets the crowd moving to the beat of his hit song "Wine Down and Touch Your Toes''. The top soca band performed at Penno's Wharf in St.

George's on Saturday night and drew an estimated crowd of 3,000.