Mapendo

50 years ago, the Starlight Club in Nairobi was one of the hottest nightspots in East Africa, a venue that attracted international celebrities from James Stewart to Bing Crosby, and the best local bands, including Orchestra Virunga, led by the Congolese star Samba Mapangala, and The Mighty Cavaliers. You had to be good, and energetic, to work there – The Mighty Cavaliers would play five-hour sets, five nights a week. They released two albums, Fisherman (1976) followed by Mapendo (1977), now re-released by the German label Want Some. A rousing, cheerful set, it shows the variety of styles that the Starlight set would expect to hear. There are Congolese soukous influences, for this was the style that then dominated Kenya and is reflected here by the charming and lilting ‘Mapendo Mapendo’. There’s a cool, brassy tribute to apartheid-era South Africa’s protest music on ‘Baruwa Ya Soweto’, a dash of funk on ‘Mambo Bado’, a burst of African soul and gospel on ‘Mama Come Home’, and a nod to Western pop balladry with ‘Bring Your Love’. Then there are energetic dance tracks like ‘Wacho Maneno’, driven on by the bass work of Bonnie Wanda, one of the band’s three surviving members. An intriguing slice of African musical history. It must have been great to see them back in their Starlight glory days.