Teddy Osei

Francis Osei, known as Teddy Osei, was a Ghanaian saxophonist, drummer and singer who founded Osibisa in London in 1969. Osibisa mixed highlife and West African rhythms with rock, jazz and funk, and became one of the first African bands to reach a large international audience. He died on 14 January 2025, aged 89.

Early life

He was born in Kumasi, and his mother later estimated his birth as December 1935. He was the second of seven children of Roman Catholic parents and was named after the Asante king Osei Tutu. His father played horn in a church band, and as a boy he played bass drum in the school band and picked up folk songs at the Asantehene's palace. He studied draughtsmanship at a college in Sekondi, where he taught himself the saxophone, and worked briefly as a building inspector in Kumasi.

The Comets and London

He formed a semi-professional highlife band, the Comets, with his brother and friends. It recorded for Philips West Africa and played on radio. In 1962 he moved to London, washing dishes for a year before a Ghanaian government grant paid for three years at a music and drama school. The grant ended after the 1966 coup that removed Kwame Nkrumah, and he formed a soul band, Cat's Paw, with other students, including his brother Mac Tontoh and Sol Amarfio.

Osibisa

In 1969 Osei, Tontoh and Amarfio formed Osibisa with other London-based musicians. The name came from osibisaaba, a Fante style that blended palm-wine music with fishermen's songs. Signed by Gerry and Lillian Bron of Bronze Records, the band became one of the most popular African acts of the 1970s, with UK hits including "Sunshine Day" and "Dance the Body Music". Osibisa declined in popularity after the 1970s but kept performing.

Family

He had three daughters: Agnes, Matilda and Shanta.