Other Romeos Are Available

I don't know whether it is the delayed effect of all the many long haul overnight flights I have taken recently but I am currently struggling to persuade my mind and body to turn up in the same place at the same time. 

One consequence of that is an inability to come up with interesting ideas for posts. So in the absence of anything approaching inspiration I latched on to 'Romeo' from the Max Romeo tribute in my previous post.

Here are loads of songs about Romeos (with and without Juliets) and a couple by Romeos. Enjoy!

"Romeo's Tune" - Steve Forbert

"She Took Off My Romeos" - David Lindley & El Rayo-X

"Romeo And Juliet" - Michael & The Messengers

"Romeo Had Juliette" - Lou Reed

"Weathered Romeo" - Sis

"I'm No Romeo" - Billy Stewart

"Goodbye Romeo" - Tara Priya

"Romeo" - Lord Kitchener

"Mulamba" - Romeo Dika

"Undercover Kept" - Roneo Void

Max Romeo RIP

Another good one has gone. The mighty Max Romeo left us on Friday aged 80. RIP Mr Romeo.

Perhaps regrettably best known in the UK for his 1969 Top 10 hit "Wet Dream" - of which he later said "the devil made me do it" - he went on to make some of the finest roots records of the 1970s. Here are just a few.

"War Ina Babylon" -  Max Romeo

"Chase The Devil" - Max Romeo

"Socialism Is Love" - Max Romeo

"Tacko" - Max Romeo

Meet Me In Port Louis

I got back from my trip to Mauritius yesterday. Between the work and the wet weather I didn't get to see a huge amount - just the capital Port Louis, Mahebourg in the south and their surrounding areas - but I liked what I saw in my time off and would graciously accept an invitation to go back. 

I took a few snaps which you can find here if you are interested. There are a lot of shots of bays which start to merge into each other after a while, but then there are a lot of beautiful bays to admire.

The abundance of bays was not matched by an abundance of local music. I had been quite optimistic before arriving as my research had identified four record shops, two in Port Louis and two a short metro ride away in Rose Hill. Unfortunately two of the four have shut up shop completely and one has gone into a different line of business and no longer sells records.

Even the fourth emporium on my list, Harbour Music in Port Louis, is now predominantly a clothes shop. I had an good old natter with the proprietor who pined for the old days of wall to wall albums and blamed his current predicament on a combination of Covid and computers.

The music selection in Harbour is now limited to a small number of local compilations. More or less at random I choose "Nouvo Compil Sa!!" from 2015. Today we bring you the opening track by Dr. Boyzini, a man whose name suggests he ought to be on a 1980s Eurodisco revival package tour somewhere.

More positively I did stumble across the Ah Kaye Music Shop in an alley in Rose Hill. But judging by the stock on the shelves the owner sees his mission as bringing international music to the local audience - if anyone in Mauritius is looking for a 7" or "Mississippi" by Pussycat then Ah Kaye is the place to go - rather than promoting local music. 

There were only a few Mauritian CDs to choose from. I opted for "Ouvert To Lizie", the 2021 album by local MAR stalwart Ti Blakka. On the back cover it proudly states that the album was sponsored by the Ministry of Arts and Cultural Heritage, making it even more mandatory than usual. 

"Mon C Val" - Dr. Boyzini

"Coler Froter" - Ti Blakka

I subsequently learnt that the owner of the Ah Kaye is called Fred and he has been a stalwart supporter of reggae music for many years now, so much so that Errol Dunkley wrote a song in his honour. 

Jabu, Jozi And Me

I returned from my family visit to South Africa a couple of days ago. My immediate priority was to get the washing on before heading off on a tedious work trip to Mauritius on Thursday, but I had some time during the spin cycle to prepare this post.

I started the visit in Cape Town where I popped into the second hand record shops in the Observatory district. Among the goodies I found was "Mmalo-We", the first album by the second version of Bayete. 

Jabu Khanyile was the drummer and lead vocalist in the original Bayete between 1984 and their break-up in 1992. After the split he recruited a new line-up and stuck his name on the front. This 1993 effort was the first of a series of albums they made up until his untimely early death from cancer and diabetes in 2006.

The second part of the trip involved a culture packed couple of days in Johannesburg. One of the highlights was a visit to the Apartheid Museum where there is much to learn, even (or perhaps especially) for those of us who lived there during that era. 

I was particularly taken by this poster about the workings of the race classification system, a reminder that as well as being cruel apartheid was inherently nonsensical. The sting is in the tail.

While in Joburg I acquired a copy of  "Marabi Nights", a book about the growth of the local marabi jazz scene (sometimes also called "township jazz") from the 1920s to the 1950s. I've not read it yet so can't give you a review, but it comes with a CD of recordings rescued from old 78s that the author discovered in the course of his research. Two selections are below, from 1933 and 1945 respectively. 

Finally on my last night the local Gogginses and I took in a show at the excellent Untitled Basement venue in the hip Braamfontein district of the city. Star of the night was local nu-soul diva Ayanda Jiya. Personally I found a lot of her material a bit samey, but she has a great voice and a winning personality. One of the younger members of the clan was quite starstruck when she met her afterwards.

That's all for now. Stand by for some fine Mauritian sega when I return around the end of next week.

"Ubugwala" - Jabu Khanyile & Bayete

"Ntebejana" - W.P. Zikali

"Marabi No. 2 Jive" - Hot Lips Dance Band

Ra-Ra-Rajasthan

The first part of my extended world work and pleasure tour has now been completed. Over the last couple of weeks I have been in Mumbai, Udaipur in Rajasthan, Dubai for an evening due to my direct flight home being cancelled, and finally Brussels. If anyone is interested I have put some photos of the first three up on Flickr.

I enjoyed them all in their different ways but the highlight undoubtedly was Udaipur, the City of Lakes, with a little side trip to Kumbhalgarh Fort whose 36km walls are apparently the second longest continuous wall in the world after that Chinese one whose name escapes me. I would love to go back and see more of Rajasthan if I get the chance.

The local cuisine is excellent - I became a bit addicted to laal maas, mutton in a spicy gravy - as is the culture. My previous post featured some of the fine likenesses in the local wax museum, and now it is the turn of the music.

Tucked away in the heart of Hathipole market in Udaipur is a small store that sells discs loaded up with mp3s of Rajasthani music and Bollywood hits. I can't remember its name and could not find it when I tried to pay a second visit. Maybe it only existed for one magical moment in time.

Among the discs I bought were Volumes 1 and 2 of a series highlighting the 'representative dance songs of Rajasthan' called 'Ghoomar', which is evidently a traditional dance of the Bhil people. They were put together in 2000 by Veena Music of Jaipur, whose vibrant YouTube channel I relied on to identify the names of the artists.

According to Veena Music "Mahino Phagan Ko" is the best Rajasthani Holi song. As Holi this year was on Thursday and Friday last week it seemed like an appropriate choice to kick things off. Belated best wishes to all those who celebrated. 

"Mahino Phagan Ko" - Manohar

"Kalyo Kood Pado Mele Me" - Seema Mishra

"Gorari Kar Solah Singar" - Mukesh Bagra

The next leg of the journey starts tomorrow evening when I fly to South Africa to see the local branches of the Goggins family. I get back at the end of March and after a quick turn around head off to Mauritius for work. I'm still not sure quite how I wangled that but I have added on a few days for sightseeing and hope to return with stacks of sega CDs to share with you. 

I will report in when I can but until then here is some more music from the Bill people.

Cocoa Tea RIP

The roll call of musicians leaving us too soon continues to be added to on an almost daily basis it seems. Since the start of the month we've lost Roy Ayers, Brian James, Edip Akbayram, Geraint Jarman and Angie Stone to name but a few. RIP to them all.

Earlier this week the man known to his family and friends as Colvin Scott and to the rest of us as the mighty Cocoa Tea was added to the list. He passed away on Tuesday after struggling with lymphoma for a number of years. RIP Mr Tea.

"Africa Here I Come" - Cocoa Tea

"Things In Life" - Cocoa Tea

"Possy" - Cocoa Tea

"She Loves Me Now (Extended Mix)" - Cocoa Tea

Waxing Lyrical

I had intended to share with you over the next couple of days some of the film music and 'representative dance songs' of Rajasthan I picked up while in Udaipur. But that was when I thought I was going to be at home over the next couple of days.

Unfortunately the b****rs at Virgin Atlantic had a different idea. They cancelled my flight this morning and I am now coming back tomorrow with Emirates via Dubai, including what I am sure will be a delightful nine hour layover between flights, arriving in the UK on Tuesday. By the time I finally make it home I will have less than 24 hours before heading off to Brussels.

So the planned cultural treat will have to wait. Instead here are a few of the exhibits from one of the other cultural highlights of my visit, the Udaipur Wax Museum.

And now the theme song from 'Mannequin'. How wrong they were.