Last night we watched Jool’s Holland…..
His show can be a bit hit or miss but there is always quality and wonderful variety on display.
“Staff Benda Bilili are a group of street musicians in Congo-Kinshasa. They live around the grounds of the zoo in Kinshasa, and play music which is rooted in rumba, with elements of old-school rhythm ‘n’ blues and reggae. The core of the band consists of four senior singers/guitarist, who are all disabled (they suffered from poliomyelitis when they were young) and move around in spectacularly customized tricycles. They are backed by a younger rhythm section consisting of ex-sheges, abandoned street kids who were taken under the protection of the older members of the band. The soloist is an 18 year-old boy (2009) who plays guitar-like solos on an electrified one-stringed lute he designed and built himself out of a tin can.”
Benda Bilili means “look beyond appearances” – literally: “put forward what is hidden”
They were awesome….
Watch this clip from BBC Newsnight…
