Bukky Leo & Black Egypt: The Legend of William Onyeabor – Live at Belgrave Music Hall & Canteen 10.10.2021

On Sunday night, Belgrave Music Hall was filled with the funky and infectiously joyous tunes of Bukky Leo and Black Egypt, as they performed their renditions of some songs by the great William Onyeabor. 

William Onyeabor was an incredible artist who produced synth-driven funk music in Nigeria in the 1970s and 80s. Very little is known about the life of Onyeabor, but his music was recently thrust into the Western mainstream when David Byrne’s record label Luaka Bop released a compilation album entitled Who Is William Onyeabor? in 2013. The compilation marked the first instance of Onyeabor’s music being reissued, and the album achieved widespread acclaim – NPR even listed it as one of the greatest albums of 2013. 

As previously stated, not much is known about Onyeabor himself but there is no shortage of rumours circulating online; one of the most widespread being that he studied film in the Soviet Union and brought synthesisers back to Nigeria with him, although Onyeabor told Eric Welles Nyström (who works with Luaka Bop) that he studied record manufacturing in Stockholmand purchased synthesisers in Italy –  nothing seems certain when it comes to Onyeabor, it is unclear what is fact and what is legend. One thing that is certain, though, is that William Onyeabor was an unbelievably talented musician who was far ahead of his time. To produce the music that he did, at a time in which synth-based music was still very much a new thing in the West, in Nigeria and moreover to record, produce and press that music with his own facilities is almost unbelievable. Much of Onyeabor’s work still sounds as though it is the future of music, even now, which is surely a testament to the originality and vision of his music. 

Onyeabor is said to have become a born-again Christian in the late 1980s, refusing to speak about him or his music again. After the Luaka Bop compilation was released, Noisy released a 30-minute documentary about Onyeabor in which he repeatedly refused to be interviewed. It was only in December of 2014 (37 years after the release of his first album) that Onyeabor took part in a radio interview for BBC 6Music. 

Tragically, the world lost William Onyeabor in early 2017. The music, however, lives on and will continue to do so thanks to people like Bukky Leo. The fantastically talented saxophonist who found fame among London’s acid jazz scene in the 1980s, now tours the country with his band Black Egypt celebrating the legend of William Onyeabor and introducing those funky tunes to a new audience. 

At Belgrave Music Hall & Canteen, Bukky Leo and Black Egypt took to the stage and performed their renditions of some of the best loved William Onyeabor hits – including ‘Fantastic Man’ which you may recognise as it recently featured on the soundtrack of the third series of Netflix’s ‘Sex Education’. Although the crowd was somewhat sparce given it was a Sunday night performance, the positive energy in the room was unmatched. Everybody was smiling, everybody was dancing, it truly felt like a celebration of great music and, of course, William Onyeabor. 

As you would expect from a band fronted by Bukky Leo, the musical talent onstage was palpable – every section of the band performed so perfectly, yet their performances also felt as though there was a sense of improvisation and unpredictability. The horn section, in particular, was something to behold; it felt as though every note was speaking directly to your soul. As is to be expected of a show centred around the work of Onyeabor, the synth was an integral part of the performance and it was played masterfully. The two backing singers/dancers were mesmerising and definitely set the tone for the concert, their dance moves would even put Saturday Night Fever-era John Travolta to shame. It would be an impossible task to be in the presence of such a band and not feel an overwhelming need to dance. William Onyeabor never performed live, even if he did you would probably only have a chance of witnessing it if you lived in Enugu, Nigeria in the 1970s, but it was a wonderful experience to hear these songs performed and shared within a live music environment. 

Bukky Leo & Black Egypt are releasing an album of their Onyeabor renditions at the end of October entitled Bukky Leo & Black Egypt presents The Legends of William Onyeabor, which was recorded live at the Jazz Café, Camden, in 2018. Advanced copies were sold at the Belgrave show which means the Gryphon can wholeheartedly recommend picking up a copy of the album upon its release, it captures not only the brilliance of both Onyeabor and Bukky Leo’s work, but also the absolute happiness conveyed by hearing those songs in a live environment. Onyeabor stated in his BBC interview, “I only composed the type of music that would help the world”, with the joy that his music has brought to the world, and the good times being brought by Bukky Leo and Black Egypt to venues up and down the country, there is surely a world of truth in that statement.