1Focus on some artists
The Equals
The Equals were the UK’s first multi-ethnic group. The group was started in 1965 by Eddy Grant, who had arrived in London from Guyana in 1960 at the age of 12, the two Gordon brothers, who came from Jamaica in the early 1950s, along with John Hall and Paul Lloyd, both born in London. Their musical style features a mix of pop, blues, rock, ska, blue beat and calypso. Their song “Baby Come Back” was number 1 for three weeks in July and number 2 in France. With “Police on My Back”, Eddy Grant talked about social problems, describing the tense relationship between between youth and police. The song would be covered by many groups, including The Clash, Asian Dub Foundation, Zebda, and Lethal Bizzle.
Linton Kwesi Johnson: combat poetry
A British artist born in 1952 in Jamaica, Linton Kwesi Johnson (LKJ) is the inventor of a musical style known as dub poetry. A child of Brixton, from one album to the next, this socially engaged artist became a chronicler of Caribbean immigration in London. In particular, he describes the “Black” experience in the UK and the difficulties inherent in life in certain working class districts. In his first album Dread Beat An' Blood, his poetry performed to reggae tunes was intended as “a cultural weapon”, denouncing the discrimination and violence of which young blacks in particular are victim. In 2012, two years after author Salman Rushdie, and in recognition of his whole body of literary work, he received the Golden PEN Award.
Manu Dibango
From the jazz clubs of Saint-Germain-des-Prés in the 1950s to his collaborations with Nino Ferrer and Dick Rivers in the 1960s, not forgetting his global hit single Soul Makossa (1973), his spell in Kingston, Jamaica in the late 1970s and his reputation as "papa groove" of the musical world, in 2019 Manu Dibango is celebrating 60 years in music.
A true ambassador for the African continent, along the way he has crossed paths with everybody from Sidney Bechet to Quincy Jones, Herbie Hancock, Bob Marley, Muhammad Ali, General de Gaulle and Emperor Bokassa. Driven by his restless spirit of eclecticism, nomadism and collaboration, Dibango continues to explore the outer limits of afro-jazz, rumba, funk and reggae. Saxophone, piano, vibraphone, organ, marimba, voice, words, music, arrangements, conducting, presenting music programmes for television: the breadth of his musical abilities and interests is truly exceptional.
The Abranis
The Abranis are a rock group of Algerian origin. Founded in 1967, they enjoyed considerable success in the 1970s and 1980s.
