Osibisa

Osibisa helped turn Afro-rock and world music into a commercial genre. The band was formed in London in 1969 by three Ghanaians, Teddy Osei, Sol Amarfio and Mac Tontoh, with musicians from Antigua, Nigeria, Grenada and Trinidad.

Roots in Ghana

In the 1950s Osei, Amarfio and others played highlife in The Star Gazers, then formed the Comets with Osei's brother Mac Tontoh, scoring a West African hit with "(I Feel) Pata Pata" in 1958. Osei moved to London on a government scholarship in 1962 to study music and in 1964 formed Cat's Paw, an early mix of highlife, rock and soul. He brought Amarfio and Tontoh over in 1969. The band said the name meant "criss-cross rhythms that explode with happiness"; it comes from the Fante word for highlife.

The Beautiful Seven

The first line-up, heard on the first three albums, added Antiguan guitarist and singer Wendell Richardson, Nigerian percussionist Lasisi Amao, Grenadian bassist Spartacus R and Trinidadian keyboardist Robert Bailey. Fans called them the "Beautiful Seven", after a song on Woyaya. Through the 1970s they toured Japan, Australasia, India and Africa, with later members including Kiki Gyan and Daku "Potato" Adams. In 1971 they played percussion on Uriah Heep's "Look at Yourself".