Political turbulence in 1980s Ghana drove musicians to Europe, where they created a glorious new style. Now working as London church ministers and more, the original stars look back
, nightlife was booming: live bands played James Brown, Kool and the Gang, Otis Redding and the Rolling Stones in packed dancehalls, and pop music from Europe and the US was dominating the radio. Traditional sounds were often sidelined as DJs turned to funk, soul, disco and rock – but these heady days didn’t last.
“Oh, it was something special that day,” Boateng reminisces. “They had all these new instruments, and a mix of white European stars among them – all playing the highlife. The song was playing all over the airwaves, and the people were so keen. We were heading towards a new direction, and the music was fantastic.”
“I was hoping that it would be good in the market!” he says. “But the people I relied on to sell the album disappointed me. They messed up everything – and as a result, it didn’t sell to the standard I was expecting. It was hard for me.
“When I arrived here, I had to do cleaning jobs, or work in factories because I needed money,” says Appiah, who is still in Amsterdam today. “Any jobs that came in front of me, I had to go with it. But still, I couldn’t get [enough to buy] a set of instruments.”
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