Back in the 1980s as the world awakened to what we now know as “world music” the sounds of the Bhundu Boys made centerstage. The band were Zimbabwe’s biggest export with a unique sound and energy, and one its founders passed away in September: Rise Kagona.
In 1980, Rhodesia became Zimbabwe after the Independence War, and hope was in the air. The Bhundu Boys, formed in that year by Kagona and its lead singer, Biggie Tembo, captured the time with their infectious cross-rhythms, unique sounds and guitar riffs. The band played for five years in Harare’s beer halls, earning them hit after hit, but it was really the British Enterprise Allowance Scheme that allowed the group to reach the heights.
The Scheme was a British Government (Margaret Thatcher in charge) funding attempt to overcome unemployment by providing money for the unemployed to establish businesses. One of those businesses was Discafrique Records, created by Owen Elias and Doug Veitch who used the money to travel to Harare in search of musicians. They founded the Bhundu Boys and released a 4 track EP in 1985. Success followed and the band toured in 1986 in the UK, supporting Madonna at Wembley Stadium in 1987 and signing with Warner Brothers to release two more albums.
The band did not survive but their music lives on. A bright legacy to the heady days of Zimbabwean Independence, and to the rise of world music. A luta continua!
Read more:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhundu_Boys
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