Rum, Royalty, & Rock Stars: The Basil Charles Story
03/27/25 • 43 min
How does a bar built with love become a spiritual home for both billionaires and fishermen on a tiny Caribbean island?In this heartwarming episode of "Came Here to Love," host Liz Logan sits down with the legendary Basil Charles, founder of Basil's Bar on the exclusive Caribbean island of Mustique. Born into poverty in St. Vincent in 1947, Basil shares his remarkable journey from working as a church assistant at age 11 to becoming confidant to royalty and rock stars alike. After losing his mother at nine and being raised by his grandmother, Basil's infectious spirit and authentic approach to hospitality eventually led him to Mustique in 1971, where a chance encounter with island owner Colin Tennant changed his life forever.
The conversation explores how Basil transformed a simple beachside bar into a global destination where Princess Margaret, Mick Jagger, and countless celebrities found a welcoming home away from home. With humility and joy, Basil reveals the philosophy behind his success: genuine love for people, dedication to service, and creating moments of pure happiness through music, dance, and community. Beyond his commercial success, Basil shares how he established an educational foundation that has helped 4,000 children in St. Vincent, embodying his grandmother's teaching that giving without expectation is life's greatest reward.
Basil Charles was born in 1947 in a small village in St. Vincent, and overcame a challenging childhood marked by poverty and his mother's death when he was nine. Raised by his grandmother, he began working at age 11 and eventually found his way to Mustique in 1971. There, a chance meeting with island owner Colin Tennant led to the creation of Basil's Bar, which became a legendary Caribbean destination frequented by Princess Margaret, Mick Jagger, and countless celebrities as well as locals. Despite his success, Basil remains humble, founding an education foundation that has helped 4,000 children in St. Vincent while embodying his grandmother's philosophy of giving without expectation.
In this episode:
- (00:00) Introduction and Basil's life philosophy
- (01:13) Basil's background and introduction to Mustique
- (07:44) Early life in St. Vincent and journey to Mustique
- (13:04) Meeting Colin Tennant and early days at Cotton House
- (19:56) The birth and evolution of Basil's Bar
- (24:24) Creating a magical atmosphere where everyone belongs
- (30:13) Jump Up nights, Blues Festival, and celebrity performances
- (35:21) Life lessons, legacy, and the importance of love
- (43:25) Final thoughts and closing reflections
- Subscribe, like, and send us your comments and ideas for future episodes!
Resources:
How does a bar built with love become a spiritual home for both billionaires and fishermen on a tiny Caribbean island?In this heartwarming episode of "Came Here to Love," host Liz Logan sits down with the legendary Basil Charles, founder of Basil's Bar on the exclusive Caribbean island of Mustique. Born into poverty in St. Vincent in 1947, Basil shares his remarkable journey from working as a church assistant at age 11 to becoming confidant to royalty and rock stars alike. After losing his mother at nine and being raised by his grandmother, Basil's infectious spirit and authentic approach to hospitality eventually led him to Mustique in 1971, where a chance encounter with island owner Colin Tennant changed his life forever.
The conversation explores how Basil transformed a simple beachside bar into a global destination where Princess Margaret, Mick Jagger, and countless celebrities found a welcoming home away from home. With humility and joy, Basil reveals the philosophy behind his success: genuine love for people, dedication to service, and creating moments of pure happiness through music, dance, and community. Beyond his commercial success, Basil shares how he established an educational foundation that has helped 4,000 children in St. Vincent, embodying his grandmother's teaching that giving without expectation is life's greatest reward.
Basil Charles was born in 1947 in a small village in St. Vincent, and overcame a challenging childhood marked by poverty and his mother's death when he was nine. Raised by his grandmother, he began working at age 11 and eventually found his way to Mustique in 1971. There, a chance meeting with island owner Colin Tennant led to the creation of Basil's Bar, which became a legendary Caribbean destination frequented by Princess Margaret, Mick Jagger, and countless celebrities as well as locals. Despite his success, Basil remains humble, founding an education foundation that has helped 4,000 children in St. Vincent while embodying his grandmother's philosophy of giving without expectation.
In this episode:
- (00:00) Introduction and Basil's life philosophy
- (01:13) Basil's background and introduction to Mustique
- (07:44) Early life in St. Vincent and journey to Mustique
- (13:04) Meeting Colin Tennant and early days at Cotton House
- (19:56) The birth and evolution of Basil's Bar
- (24:24) Creating a magical atmosphere where everyone belongs
- (30:13) Jump Up nights, Blues Festival, and celebrity performances
- (35:21) Life lessons, legacy, and the importance of love
- (43:25) Final thoughts and closing reflections
- Subscribe, like, and send us your comments and ideas for future episodes!
Resources:
Previous Episode
The Great Adaptation: Zander Grashow's Vision for a Heart-Centered Future
“We need to figure out how people can be wrong, but not evil.” - Zander GrashowIn this episode, host Liz Logan engages in a heart-centered conversation with Zander Grashow, founder of Adaptive Leadership Plus and creator of Explorer Process. As a confidential advisor to presidents, activists, and change agents, Zander brings his extensive experience working with global business, philanthropic, entrepreneurial, and creative communities. The discussion explores what Zander calls "The Great Adaptation" – our collective realization that current systems are unsustainable and the need to envision new possibilities.
Zander shares profound insights on accessing wisdom from six sources: within ourselves, from others, the collective, through play, from nature, and the divine. Drawing from his personal experiences as a single father raising three children after losing his wife to cancer, he illuminates the balance between head and heart, the importance of approaching parenting as stewardship rather than ownership, and finding harmony amid polarization. The conversation highlights political division, environmental crisis, artistic expression, and the healing power of present-moment awareness, ultimately focusing on compassion and kindness as essential needs in our rapidly changing world.
Zander Grashow is the Founder of Adaptive Leadership+ and Creator of the Explorer Process, a recognized authority on leadership and transformation. For over two decades, he has served as a confidential advisor to presidents, activists, and change agents during critical transitions. With a broad reach spanning global business, philanthropic, activist, and creative communities, Zander designs uplifting, challenging programs rooted in the principle that adaptation is vital to human flourishing. His commitment to sharing effective approaches led him to co-author "Adaptive Leadership: Tools and Tactics for Changing the World" from Harvard Business Press and the Harvard Business Review article "Leadership in a Permanent Crisis."
In this episode:
- (00:00) Guest Zander Grashow, his background and credentials as an advisor to leaders, philosophy on finding wisdom through play, nature, and the divine
- (03:30) The Great Adaptation: Zander shares his perspective on our broken systems and the need for a new collective vision to move beyond fear and polarization
- (10:46) Love as action versus fear as reaction: Exploring the concept of seeing opposition with compassion and the importance of dialogue over monologue in politics and relationships
- (18:04) The head-heart balance: Understanding trauma responses, learning to operate from the heart, and the transformative power of intentional gatherings and present moment awareness
- (24:20) Sources of wisdom and nature's harmony: Discussing the six sources of wisdom (self, others, collective, play, nature, divine) and how time in natural settings helps us reconnect to our essence
- (30:07) Parenting as stewardship and honoring love: Zander reflects on fatherhood as a journey of stewardship rather than possession, and shares about his wife's passing and raising children as a single father
- (51:30) Final reflections on what the world needs now: more compassion and kindness for all
- Subscribe, like, and send us your comments and ideas for future episodes!
Resources:
If you like this episode you’ll love
Episode Comments
Generate a badge
Get a badge for your website that links back to this episode
<a href="https://goodpods.com/podcasts/came-here-to-love-607009/rum-royalty-and-rock-stars-the-basil-charles-story-88068424"> <img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/goodpods-images-bucket/badges/generic-badge-1.svg" alt="listen to rum, royalty, & rock stars: the basil charles story on goodpods" style="width: 225px" /> </a>
Copy