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Osibisa is a British Afro-pop band, founded in London in 1969 by
four expatriate African and three Caribbean musicians. Osibisa were
one of the first African heritage bands to become widely popular,
leading to claims of founding World Music...
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Osibisa
In Ghana in the 1950s, Teddy Osei (saxophone), Sol Amarfio (drums), Mamon Shareef, and Farhan Freere (flute) played in a highlife band called The Star Gazers. They left to form The Comets, with Osei's brother Mac Tontoh (born Kweku Adabanka Tonto, 25 December 1940, Kumasi, Ashanti, Ghana died Monday 16 August 2010, at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, Accra, Ghana) on trumpet, and scored a hit in West Africa with their 1958 song "Pete Pete." In 1962 Osei moved to London to study music on a scholarship from the Ghanaian government. In 1964 he formed Cat's Paw, an early "world music" band that combined highlife, rock, and soul. In 1969 he persuaded Amarfio and Tontoh to join him in London, and Osibisa was born. Joining them in the first incarnation were Grenadian Spartacus R (bass) (born Roy Bedeau, 3 September 1948, Aruba, Grenada, West Indies died Friday 30 July 2010) ; Trinidadian Robert Bailey (keyboard); Antiguan Wendell Richardson (lead guitar); and Nigerian Lasisi Amao (percussionist and tenor saxophone). Their music is a fusion of African, Caribbean, jazz, rock, Latin, and R&B.
The band spent much of the 1970s touring the world, playing to
large audiences in Japan, Australia, India, and Africa. During this
time Paul Golly (died 1977) (guitar) and Ghanaians Daku Adams
'Potato' (died 1995) and Kiki Djan (died 2004) were also members of
the band. In 1980 Osibisa performed at a special Zimbabwean
independence celebration, and in 1983 were filmed onstage at the
Marquee Club in London. Changes in the music industry however (punk
and disco primarily) meant declining sales for the band, and a
series of label changes resulted. The band returned to Ghana to set
up a recording studio and theatre complex to help younger highlife
musicians. In the 1990s their music was widely anthologized in many
collections, most of them paying no royalties whatsoever to the
band.
In 1996 Osei reformed the band, and many of their past releases
began coming out on CD. The band remains active in 2009, although
Osei has cut back his touring schedule due to the effects of a
stroke.
Osibisa had an energetic performance in India, at the November Fest
2010 on 28/11/2010 at the Corporation Kalaiarangam in Coimbatore,
Tamil Nadu.
The name Osibisa was described by the band members as meaning
"criss cross rhythms that explode with happiness" but it actually
comes from "osibisaba" the Fante word for highlife.
Their style influenced many of the emerging African
musicians of the time and even now, as Ace Ghanaian hip hop music
producer Hammer of The Last Two stated that his debut production,
Obrafour's 'paemuka' album, the highest selling hiplife album to
date was inspired by a single song (Welcome Home) by Osibisa. He
also had the chance to work with Kiki Djan a few days before his
death.
The group used to live in Kingsbury, North-west London, and the
drummer Frank Tonto is the son of the band.
Album covers
Their first two albums featured artwork (and logo) by famed
progressive-rock artist Roger Dean (before he became famous for his
artwork), depicting flying elephants which became the symbol for
the band. The third album, Heads, features a cover by Mati
Klarwein, famed for his covers for Santana (Abraxas) and Miles
Davis (Bitches Brew). Osibirock features "Negro Attacked by a
Jaguar" (1910) by Henri Rousseau. Playing on the original flying
elephants theme, the Ultimate Collection set features elephants
with tank turrets for heads. In 2009, their Osee Yee album featured
the flying elephants once more, this time painted by Freyja Dean
(Dean's daughter). Roger Dean's logo for the band continues to be
used on every release.
Musicians
Saxophone — Teddy Osei
Trumpet — Colin Graham
Percussion, Congas — Kofi Ayivor, Nii Tagoe, Daku
Potato
Drums — Sol Amarfio, KB, Frank Tontoh
Keyboards — Bessa Simons, Kwame Yeboah, Chris Jerome,
Emmmanuel Rentzos, Errol Reid
Guitars — Kari Bannerman, Gregg Kofi Brown, Wendell
Richardson, Tony Etoria
Bass Guitar — Spartacus R and later Victor Mensah, Herman
Asafo, Gregg Kofi Brown
Vocals Gregg Kofi Brown, Teddy Osei, Emmanuel Rentzos,
Wendell Richardson & all on BV's
Tour Manager Mick Tresnan AKA Mick Tee.
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Line-ups
The original line-up consisted of Teddy Osei (saxophone,flute, and
vocals), Mac Tontoh (trumpet and background vocals), Sol Amarfio
(drums and backing vocals), all three from Ghana, Loughty Lassisi
Amao (congas, percussion, and horns), from Nigeria, Robert Bailey
(keyboards), from Trinidad, Spartacus R (bass), from Grenada, and
Wendell Richardson (lead guitar and vocals) and together they were
also known as "the beautiful seven." The first to exit officially
was Spartacus R who was replaced numerous times by once the bassist
of the group called Assagai and a few times by Jean Mandengue and
others. Amao left and was replaced by Kofi Ayivor who was replaced
by Potato but returned to the group later. Richardson left in 1972
and returned in 1975 and henceforth "Welcome Home" and "Sunshine
Day". Bailey was replaced by Kiki Gyan before "Sunshine Day"
release. Richardson was replaced a few times by the likes of guitar
wizard, Kari Bannerman. Black Welsh guitarist Tony Etoria, who had
a hit in 1977 with "I Can Prove It", joined on guitar in the early
80s.
Albums
1971 - Osibisa - (Billboard Hot 200 #55 - UK #11)
1971 - Woyaya - (Billboard #66 - UK #11)
1972 - Heads - (Billboard #125)
1973 - Best of Osibisa
1973 - Superfly T.N.T. Soundtrack (Billboard #159)
1973 - Happy Children (Billboard #202)
1974 - Osibirock (Billboard #175)
1975 - Welcome Home (Billboard #200)
1976 - Ojah Awake
1977 - Black Magic Night: Live at the Royal Festival Hall
1980 - Mystic Energy
1981 - African Flight
1983 - Unleashed
1984 - Live at The Marquee
1989 - Movements
1990 - African Criss Cross
1992 - Africa We Go Go (unauthorised)
1992 - Uhuru (unauthorised)
1992 - The Warrior (unauthorised)
1992 - Ayiko Bia (unauthorised)
1992 - Jambo (unauthorised)
1992 - Gold
1992 - Criss Cross Rhythms
1994 - Celebration: The Best of Osibisa
1994 - The Very Best of Osibisa
1997 - Monsore
1997 - Hot Flashback Volume 1
1997 - Sunshine Day: The Very Best of Osibisa
1997 - The Ultimate Collection (2 CDs)
1998 - Live At Cropredy
1999 - The Best of Osibisa
2001 - Aka Kakra (Acoustic Live)
2001 - Best of V.1
2001 - The Very Best of Osibisa (3 CDs)
2002 - Millennium Collection
2002 - Best of Osibisa
2003 - African Dawn, African Flight
2004 - Wango Wango
2005 - Blue Black Night (Live) (2 CDs)
2008 - Selected Works
2008 - Sunshine Day: The Hits
2009 - Osee Yee
2009 - The Very Best of Osibisa
Note - Although the title of the second album is conventionally
spelled Woyaya, the actual title is Wכyaya (with a
backwards-c)
Singles
1971 - "Music for Gong Gong"
1972 - "Wango Wango"
1972 - "Ana Bo 1"
1972 - "Move On"
1973 - "Prophets"
1973 - "Happy Children"
1974 - "Adwoa"
1974 - "Who's Got The Paper"
1975 - "The Warrior"
1975 - "Sunshine Day"
1976 - "Black Ant"
1976 - "Dance the Body Music"
1976 - "The Coffee Song"
1977 - "The Warrior"
1977 - "Black Out"
1978 - "Living Loving Feeling"
1980 - "Jumbo"
1980 - "Celebration"
1980 - "Oreba"
1980 - "I Feel Pata Pata"
1982 - "Move Your Body"
1985 - "Wooly Bully"
1996 - "Sunshine Day (radio edit)"
1997 - "Dance The Body Music"
Video
1983 - Warrior (VHS) (recorded 5 April 1983 at the Marquee Club,
London)
2003 - Osibisa - Live (DVD Plus) (same show as above)
(soon)
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