William \u201cRuler\u201d Murrain says he has loved calypso since he was a little boy. Though most people associate him with Cork Hill Village, he actually hails from an area called \u201cKilly Hawk Ghaut\u201d near Tuitt\u2019s Village in the east of Montserrat. In the late 1950s, his family relocated to Cork Hill, next to Lansen Park, the cricket field. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ruler got a job at Hamsey\u2019s Sweet Drink Factory in Plymouth. It was there that he received the inspiration for his first calypso hit. When the soft drinks were being dispensed, the machine that would cap the bottles would sometimes clamp down too hard, and the bottles would break. On one such occasion, a bottle shattered, dispersing shards and slivers and causing several cuts on Ruler\u2019s arm. He decided to write a song about the incident. It was called Bottles Flying<\/em>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n It was a popular song that became a prelude to Ruler being one of the five pioneers who competed in the first Festival calypso show in 1962. It was organized by the Jaycees. The other entrants were Justin \u201cHero\u201d Cassell, Alfred \u201cChristo\u201d Christopher, Peter \u201cRed Pole\u201d Howson and James \u201cTangler\u201d Lee aka Daddy Murrain. Ruler finished second runner-up behind Hero and Christo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ruler continued to compete throughout the 1960s, then joined a boycott in 1968 of the calypso show \u2013 led by Alphonsus \u201cArrow\u201d Cassell \u2013 to protest the substandard prize money being awarded calypsonians. Before the boycott, Ruler was the subject of an infamous incident. <\/p>\n\n\n\n After the 1967 show, the prize-giving ceremony was held at the Vue Pointe Hotel. Ruler was presented with a shirt by local businessman Habib Hadeed. He was insulted. So he threw the garment on the floor and stomped on it. The story had been rumored for years, but during a 2012 interview Ruler confirmed that the incident did take place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI threw it on the ground and walk on it,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m not gonna lie. They [the judges] rob me and still wanted me to wear the shirt.\u201d Ruler says that in retrospect he regrets what he did. \u201cI think that\u2019s one of the things that gave me a lot of trouble in Montserrat.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n