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Yahoo
7 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
'They didn't invite us to do Live Aid so we did our own thing'
Forty years ago a procession of the world's biggest music stars took to Wembley Stadium's stage for Live Aid to raise funds for the relief of famine in Ethiopia. Coming in the wake of the Band Aid single Do They Know It's Christmas?, it was watched around the world by millions on TV and has since spawned documentaries, films and a new musical. Yet at around the same time, on the other side of London, a similar fundraising effort with its roots in reggae was taking place, with the charity single Let's Make Africa Green Again breaking into the charts and a star-studded benefit concert attended by thousands. What was this and why was it started? On Sunday 24 February 1985, lines of musicians and bystanders squeezed into a north London recording studio to record a charity single. "Over 200 or more people were there," says Leon Leiffer, founding member of reggae vocal group The Blackstones and the man behind the British Reggae Artists Famine Appeal team (Brafa). "I had phoned Aswad, Janet Kay, Trevor Walters, Christine McNabb... There's so many names. "Then there was the general public who was nosey, inquisitive, wanted to know who all these people blocking the road were - had somebody died? "No, we invite them in to be part of the chorus!" Leiffer says he first became aware of "rumours coming out of Ethiopia of starvation" among London's Rastafarian community from people who had been heading back and forth to Africa, but seeing Michael Buerk's famous news report inspired him to do something. "My initiative was we are always singing about Africa so let's put our money where our mouth is and do something about it," he says. Leiffer says he began making calls to put on a charity concert at the Royal Albert Hall, but after a couple of weeks he abandoned his plans as others tried to take over. However, seeing Bob Geldof and Midge Ure announce their own fundraising plans rekindled his enthusiasm. "They came on with this fantastic idea, which was a mirror image of exactly what I was doing... The only difference between them and I was their platform was mega and mine wasn't, in the sense of publicity." He says seeing their efforts made him consider forgetting his plans, "but my girlfriend said: 'No, don't give up. Whatever you can do, it's better than nothing'." Shortly after, Leiffer headed to a Hackney community centre to track down fellow reggae artist Gene Rondo. "He was a Rasta man, had good ways, good thought. So I said to Genie, I hear that somewhere in Ethiopia is starvation and people are dying. And now Midge Ure and Bob Geldof are going to do something and I think we should do something as well." Calls went in again to try to organise a concert but, with difficulties finding sponsorship, the pair decided to record a charity single instead and Let's Make Africa Green Again was penned. Next came the task of finding a studio to record it. Having been turned down often, a drive past Eddy Grant's Hive Studios in Stoke Newington, when the Electric Avenue star happened to be standing outside, led to an impromptu meeting. "When I tell Eddy Grant the idea he says: 'Leon I know you and I trust you. You can have the studio all day [and] I'll give you a 24-track tape as well,'" Leiffer says. More calls were made, a plea was put out on the radio - and subsequently many of reggae's finest - along with all manner of bystanders - arrived to record the song. A distribution deal was arranged with Island Records and a music video was filmed, which had its first play on BBC programme Ebony, with the single released on 21 April. "It was a big thing, but can't be compared to the publicity [of Band Aid]," says Leiffer, noting that the coverage which Brafa received from most national newspapers at the time would often only fill "the back of a stamp". The single just made it into the top 100 (for unknown reasons the Official Charts site has it marked as being called Let's Make America Green Again), with the proceeds from sales donated to the Save the Children fund to be distributed in Ethiopia. However, the release of further details about Live Aid only spurred Leiffer on. While many hailed a line-up featuring the likes of Queen, U2 and David Bowie, some questioned the lack of diversity on the bill. "We weren't feeling pleased with Bob Geldof and Midge Ure or whoever was responsible for calling all these artists to perform," says Leiffer. "We had Aswad in the charts, we had Trevor Walters in the charts, we had Janet Kay in the charts, just to mention a few, and none of us was called upon as if we weren't important enough to play a role. "They did fantastic by raising millions and millions of pounds," he adds, "but we felt let down that we were ignored." In reaction, Leiffer and Rondo decided to set up their own benefit concert and in May the following year more than 10,000 people descended on Hackney's Shoreditch Park. "There was a massive tent. People were jumping over the railings [to break in], the place was ram-packed," recalls Leiffer. Many of the stars from the Brafa single played, while other special guests turned up to offer their support. "The famous boxer Lloyd Honeyghan, he was about to go to America to fight where he won the world championship, and I said to him, 'Lloyd, what you doing?' And he said 'I'm alright man, I'm travelling. I'm gonna bring the title back'." More than £8,000 was raised through Brafa, and Leiffer and his fellow organisers were invited to Save the Children's headquarters for a function with the charity's patron Princess Anne. Yet their work was largely forgotten, until an initiative in Hackney to celebrate the local Afro-Caribbean community in the wake of George Floyd's death led to someone mentioning Let's Make Africa Green Again. "Brafa" subsequently won a public vote for the naming of a new public square beside Shoreditch Park, where the history of what happened is now told on various plaques around the square. While Brafa's work may have created less of a splash than Live Aid, Leiffer still looks back fondly on what they achieved. "They didn't invite us so we did our own thing," he says. "We made ourselves proud that we could put in whatever small fee to what Live Aid did." Listen to the best of BBC Radio London on Sounds and follow BBC London on Facebook, X and Instagram. Send your story ideas to Sharing the Live Aid stage with David Bowie 'I played at Live Aid and toured the world with Bowie' Memories of a Live Aid lie revealed by U2's Bono Brafa Square The Blackstones
BBC News
7 days ago
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Brafa: 'They didn't invite us to do Live Aid so we did our own thing'
Forty years ago a procession of the world's biggest music stars took to Wembley Stadium's stage for Live Aid to raise funds for the relief of famine in in the wake of the Band Aid single Do They Know It's Christmas?, it was watched around the world by millions on TV and has since spawned documentaries, films and a new at around the same time, on the other side of London, a similar fundraising effort with its roots in reggae was taking place, with the charity single Let's Make Africa Green Again breaking into the charts and a star-studded benefit concert attended by was this and why was it started? On Sunday 24 February 1985, lines of musicians and bystanders squeezed into a north London recording studio to record a charity single."Over 200 or more people were there," says Leon Leiffer, founding member of reggae vocal group The Blackstones and the man behind the British Reggae Artists Famine Appeal team (Brafa). "I had phoned Aswad, Janet Kay, Trevor Walters, Christine McNabb... There's so many names."Then there was the general public who was nosey, inquisitive, wanted to know who all these people blocking the road were - had somebody died? "No, we invite them in to be part of the chorus!"Leiffer says he first became aware of "rumours coming out of Ethiopia of starvation" among London's Rastafarian community from people who had been heading back and forth to Africa, but seeing Michael Buerk's famous news report inspired him to do something."My initiative was we are always singing about Africa so let's put our money where our mouth is and do something about it," he says. Leiffer says he began making calls to put on a charity concert at the Royal Albert Hall, but after a couple of weeks he abandoned his plans as others tried to take seeing Bob Geldof and Midge Ure announce their own fundraising plans rekindled his enthusiasm."They came on with this fantastic idea, which was a mirror image of exactly what I was doing... The only difference between them and I was their platform was mega and mine wasn't, in the sense of publicity."He says seeing their efforts made him consider forgetting his plans, "but my girlfriend said: 'No, don't give up. Whatever you can do, it's better than nothing'." Shortly after, Leiffer headed to a Hackney community centre to track down fellow reggae artist Gene Rondo."He was a Rasta man, had good ways, good thought. So I said to Genie, I hear that somewhere in Ethiopia is starvation and people are dying. And now Midge Ure and Bob Geldof are going to do something and I think we should do something as well."Calls went in again to try to organise a concert but, with difficulties finding sponsorship, the pair decided to record a charity single instead and Let's Make Africa Green Again was penned. Next came the task of finding a studio to record it. Having been turned down often, a drive past Eddy Grant's Hive Studios in Stoke Newington, when the Electric Avenue star happened to be standing outside, led to an impromptu meeting."When I tell Eddy Grant the idea he says: 'Leon I know you and I trust you. You can have the studio all day [and] I'll give you a 24-track tape as well,'" Leiffer calls were made, a plea was put out on the radio - and subsequently many of reggae's finest - along with all manner of bystanders - arrived to record the song.A distribution deal was arranged with Island Records and a music video was filmed, which had its first play on BBC programme Ebony, with the single released on 21 April."It was a big thing, but can't be compared to the publicity [of Band Aid]," says Leiffer, noting that the coverage which Brafa received from most national newspapers at the time would often only fill "the back of a stamp". The single just made it into the top 100 (for unknown reasons the Official Charts site has it marked as being called Let's Make America Green Again), with the proceeds from sales donated to the Save the Children fund to be distributed in the release of further details about Live Aid only spurred Leiffer many hailed a line-up featuring the likes of Queen, U2 and David Bowie, some questioned the lack of diversity on the bill."We weren't feeling pleased with Bob Geldof and Midge Ure or whoever was responsible for calling all these artists to perform," says Leiffer."We had Aswad in the charts, we had Trevor Walters in the charts, we had Janet Kay in the charts, just to mention a few, and none of us was called upon as if we weren't important enough to play a role."They did fantastic by raising millions and millions of pounds," he adds, "but we felt let down that we were ignored." In reaction, Leiffer and Rondo decided to set up their own benefit concert and in May the following year more than 10,000 people descended on Hackney's Shoreditch Park."There was a massive tent. People were jumping over the railings [to break in], the place was ram-packed," recalls of the stars from the Brafa single played, while other special guests turned up to offer their support."The famous boxer Lloyd Honeyghan, he was about to go to America to fight where he won the world championship, and I said to him, 'Lloyd, what you doing?' And he said 'I'm alright man, I'm travelling. I'm gonna bring the title back'." More than £8,000 was raised through Brafa, and Leiffer and his fellow organisers were invited to Save the Children's headquarters for a function with the charity's patron Princess their work was largely forgotten, until an initiative in Hackney to celebrate the local Afro-Caribbean community in the wake of George Floyd's death led to someone mentioning Let's Make Africa Green Again."Brafa" subsequently won a public vote for the naming of a new public square beside Shoreditch Park, where the history of what happened is now told on various plaques around the square. While Brafa's work may have created less of a splash than Live Aid, Leiffer still looks back fondly on what they achieved."They didn't invite us so we did our own thing," he says."We made ourselves proud that we could put in whatever small fee to what Live Aid did."
The Guardian
04-04-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
‘They didn't call us for Live Aid': the stars behind Black Britain's forgotten charity record
The Ethiopian famine of the early 1980s was one of the defining news stories of the decade, an exposure of the stark divide between developed and developing nations, still referred to at the time as the Third World. It is a received wisdom that the general public in Britain learned about the crisis when shocking images of emaciated men, women and children were shown on BBC news reports. This is not entirely true. In fact, plenty of Rastafarians were already aware of the situation. The east African country was their spiritual home – many in the movement viewed its former emperor Haile Selassie as their messiah – and a place free from the iniquities of the west. 'A lot of Rastafarians went to Ethiopia [before they] came to London,' says the musician and campaigner Leon Leiffer. 'I knew many of them, and there was a rumour going around that things were really bad because of the drought. We heard it like that before the mainstream media. And I had the idea to do something to help before we saw anything on the BBC.' Leiffer, a member of the influential reggae vocal harmony group the Blackstones, is the great social activist you may never have heard of. He was the driving force behind Brafa (British Reggae Artists Famine Appeal), an ensemble that featured, among others, renowned Jamaican vocalist Dennis Brown, roots heroes Aswad and Janet Kay, the queen of lovers rock, that uniquely British strain of romantic reggae. This month marks the 40th anniversary of the release of the group's charity single, Let's Make Africa Green Again, created to raise money for famine relief efforts in Ethiopia at around the same time as another, far more notorious charity single. 'We were always singing about Africa, so we thought: let's put our money where our mouth is,' Leiffer, a friendly 72-year-old with braided grey hair, says over tea in his front room in Leyton, east London. He had initially decided to stage a concert to raise money for famine relief but finding a venue and sponsorship proved too difficult, so the fallback position was to make a record, the proceeds of which would be sent to Ethiopia via Save the Children. Leiffer, who came as a teenager from Jamaica to Britain and pursued a career in music, duly assembled a team consisting of several Rastafarian artists, such as singer Gene Rondo, drummer Jah Bunny and bassist Elroy Bailey, as well as vocalists including Leiffer's wife Fay Addison and his Blackstones bandmates Tony Douglas and Ken Kendricks. This was very much a grassroots operation, and word spread of the plan to make a charity record at popular community centres such as Roots Pool in Hackney, east London, where, as Leiffer recalls, you were as likely to see reggae royalty such as Dennis Brown as you were a 'notorious local gangster'. One musician alerted another, and Brafa soon put together an all-star UK reggae cast. Finding a studio willing to give free session time was a problem, but Leiffer and Rondo lucked out through a chance encounter with Eddy Grant, the innovative Guyanese singer who had had a big hit with Electric Avenue. Grant agreed to lend the group his own east London studio, and with that manna from heaven the project motored forward. Leiffer and Rondo combined lyrics from their previous songs, one of which hailed Africa as 'paradise', and they soon had the tune for Let's Make Africa Green Again. 'On the day of the recording I said to everybody: 'Let go of your ego!'' recalls Leiffer. 'Any artist was welcome, all they had to do was come to the studio and take part. And there were people singing who had never sung on a record before. People walked by, like at carnival time, and we'd say come in, we want you to sing on the chorus. It was an open house, a special thing. We had all kinds of folk with us. There were over 200 people involved, including local schoolkids.' Sign up to Inside Saturday The only way to get a look behind the scenes of the Saturday magazine. Sign up to get the inside story from our top writers as well as all the must-read articles and columns, delivered to your inbox every weekend. after newsletter promotion That sense of inclusion was pivotal in Brafa. As far as Leiffer was concerned, the priority was for everybody, both in the reggae and wider Black British community, to pull together and do their bit regardless of who they were. Needless to say, Band Aid had captured the world's attention in November 1984 with Do They Know It's Christmas? but Leiffer did not feel they were in competition with that song. However, on the vexed issue of the lack of Black British representation in the aforementioned project and its follow-up concert Live Aid – notwithstanding the presence in the latter of pop-jazz star Sade – he has strong views, and believes the argument that reggae artists were simply not big enough to make the bill doesn't cut any ice. 'I'd say Bob Geldof and Midge Ure have good hearts,' says Leiffer. 'They did fantastic. But to have Aswad in the international charts, and [lovers rock star] Trevor Walters, Eddy Grant, Janet Kay all enjoying major commercial success and not be involved … They didn't call us for Live Aid and they didn't call us for the recording. We had gifted, talented people and we had something to offer, and I think they should have reached out to us. Soon after our record was made, I was coming from the BBC and saw Geldof walking to Radio 1 and I said: 'Wh'appen Bob?' He acknowledged me but made no attempt to stop. I got the feeling of a brush-off.' While Black newspapers such as Caribbean Times and The Voice (who had offered up their office, with an all-important fax machine, for practical help), and music magazines such as Black Echoes and Blues & Soul ran features, there was scant coverage in the national press. Leiffer remembers an article 'the size of a postage stamp' in the Sun, though he has fond memories of appearing on Janice Long's Radio 1 show to promote the single. Despite selling well to reggae fans, the song did not make the national pop chart. Still, Brafa soldiered on and finally was able to hold a benefit concert in Shoreditch Park, east London in May 1986 that featured many of the artists on Let's Make Africa Green Again. It drew a crowd of more than 10,000 people, raising £8,000. Although one headline called it 'Live Aid reggae style', the event also showcased Black British culture in the broadest sense, including appearances by notable sports people such as Olympic sprinter Mike McFarlane and boxer Dennis Andries. The concert countered the largely negative image that clung to Black British youth just a few years after the Brixton and Toxteth riots, which may well have contributed to the mainstream media snub of Brafa. Some recognition did eventually arrive, though. In 2021, the forecourt of the Britannia Leisure Centre on the border of Shoreditch Park was named Brafa Square in honour of Leiffer and his collective. Today, he is still focused on making music and the Blackstones recently enjoyed radio play on US reggae stations with their single Ting a Ling. Looking back, he feels a sense of achievement in what he, Gene Rondo, who died in 1994, and others did. 'We were well received, maybe not on the level of Band Aid, which I understand,' he says. 'We could have had more coverage. Of what we did, though, I am hugely proud. I remember the struggle, and all the good times.'
