Kiki Gyan

Kiki Gyan (7 June 1957 to 6 June 2004), also written Kiki Djan, was a Ghanaian keyboardist, singer and producer. He joined the Afro-rock band Osibisa at 15, toured the world with them through the 1970s, and later had an international disco hit with 24 Hours in a Disco.

Early life

He was born into a middle-class family in Takoradi and started playing the piano at five. He turned professional at 12 and left secondary school at 14. After a London tour with a Ghanaian band called Pagadija, his talent was noticed by the brother of Osibisa's founder.

Osibisa

In 1972, aged 15, he replaced Osibisa's departing keyboardist and spent the rest of the decade on the road with the band, playing on Osibirock (1974), Welcome Home (1975) and Ojah Awake (1976). By 18 he had reportedly earned more than a million dollars and mixed with stars such as Elton John and Mick Jagger. At the 1977 FESTAC festival in Nigeria he met Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder and Peter Tosh.

Solo career

He released Afro Reggae in 1977 and left Osibisa in 1979 to go solo. His single 24 Hours in a Disco charted in the United States and the UK, and he followed it with Feeling So Good (1979) and Feelin' Alright (1983), as well as records with the KG Brothers. The compilation 24 Hours In A Disco 1978-82 came out in 2012.

Later life

He was briefly married to Fela Kuti's eldest daughter before marrying a Ghanaian woman, and had a daughter, Vanessa. A drug addiction that lasted some two decades wrecked his career. He died in poverty in Ghana on 6 June 2004, a day before his 47th birthday, from AIDS and drug-related complications.