The Fela Kuti reissue campaign continues next month with 10 more CD releases set to hit shelves on 20th May. The Nigerian Afrobeat pioneer, who died 15 years ago, would have been 75 in October, and throughout this year around 50 of his albums are being re-released.
Many of the CDs contain two albums and have been repackaged with in depth track-by-track sleevenotes by Afrobeat historian Chris May. The full list of forthcoming titles runs as follows:
Ikoyi Blindness / Kalakuta Show
Yellow Fever / Na Poi
Johnny Just Drop (JJD) / Unnecessary Begging
Zombie
Upside Down / Fela And Roy Ayers
Stalemate / Fear Not For Man
Opposite People / Sorrow Tears & Blood
Shuffering & Shmiling / No Agreement
VIP / Authority Stealing
Coffin For Head Of State / Unknown Soldier
To mark the forthcoming reissues, Knitting Factory and AMGP will be hosting a Saluting The Black President party at London venue 229 on Friday 17th May. It will feature Ginger Baker (drummer and Fela collaborator), Tony Allen (previously Fela’s drummer), Blak Twang, Afrikan Boy, BREIS, TY, Terri Walker, KOF and Shingai Shoniwa (from the Noisettes). The musicians, singers and rappers will offer their interpretations of Fela songs, aided and abetted by the musical backdrop provided by the inimitable Dele Sosimi (previously Fela’s keyboardist) and his Afrobeat Orchestra.
Tickets are £20 in advance online here or from the 24-hour ticket line 0844 249 1000.
In addition, previously unseen live footage has been released of Fela Kuti performing ‘Beasts of No Nation’ live at the Zenith, Paris, 1984. In the song Fela references Margaret Thatcher, P.W. Botha (the South African premier at the time of apartheid) and Ronald Reagan – watch below.
