GIGS

SKUNK ANANSIE

Old school British rock band, Skunk Anansie, are making the Stay Connected team long for the days that gigs are reopened. The name Skunk Anansie is taken from Akan folk tales of Anansi the spider-man of Ghana, with Skunk added to ‘make the name nastier’.

Formed in 1994, Skunk Anansie have been on such a journey with their music. Their sound is so distinctive, and they do not shy away from risqué topics in their songs. Religion, race, politics and gender are some of the many that are featured in their sound.

Disbanded in 2001 and then reformed in 2009, they seem to be on top form and better than ever.

Throw back to... when one of our Stay Connected team rocked out with Skunk Anansie. Passion and sweat was in full force that evening, with the whole O2 Academy packed out to capacity.

The band, full of life, consists of the members Skin, Cass, Ace and Mark. Ace is the guitarist of the band, and has been described as one of the best guitarists in the rock scene. He experiments with pedals and looping systems in order to push the boundaries of the rock genre.

Skin is the lead singer, who is very distinctive in her look and sound. Having being described as a force of nature that evening, Skin the lead singer got the energy in the room to an almost tangible level.

If you want to experience the magic for yourself, Skunk Anansie’s 2021 tour has been inevitably postponed. However, if you can wait, their tour has been rescheduled to Spring 2022. Ticket holders from the original dates aren’t to worry though, as they are still valid for the 2022 tour.

Skin, the lead singer of the band has had a lot of projects on the side, as well as the band. She also has a podcast with Absolute Radio, called Skin Tings. Having been in the music industry for 30 years, she discusses hot topics with friends and legends from the music scene. Give it a listen for the ultimate 90’s nostalgia.

Scan with smarphone camera to be taken to Skin Tings podcast

SUGAR HILL

Stay Connected had the pleasure of meeting the members of Sugar Hill Gang before lockdown.

The story of the Sugarhill Gang is perhaps one of the most controversial among old school hip hop.

Sylvia Robinson, who was involved in the music industry, heard this new underground sound called rap and felt that there was a gap in the market. She began to put together a group to record a rap record.

At the same time, Henry Jackson was a bouncer in club and also a part time hip hop manager. Henry used to listen to mix tapes of various crews of the time and rap along with the lyrics. One night Sylvia overheard Henry repeating some rhymes of Grandmaster Caz of the Cold Crush Brothers. She invited Henry to joining a group.

Here’s where the controversy begins. Instead of revealing the true author of the rhymes, Henry agreed. He later went to visit Caz who agreed to let Henry use his rhymes. Caz figured if Henry got hooked up, he was later help Caz and Cold Crush do the same. Obviously, he never did.

Henry Jackson, now renamed Big Bank Hank, joined Wonder Mike, and Master Gee and formed the Sugarhill Gang. They went on to record “Rapper’s Delight.” The song eventually went on to sell over 2 million copies, hit #4 on the R&B chart, and became the highest selling 12 inch single ever.

When the true hip hop crews heard the song on the radio they were stunned. Grandmaster Flash recalls thinking, “Sugarhill who?” No one knew who this group was, but nevertheless, they broke the sound from the underground and blew it up worldwide.

The group did record several other singles, none of which approached the success of the original.

The group still tours fairly regularly and can be seen from time to time on various TV specials.