Is Kool & the Gang concert here a hoax?
Agorup of Ameri-cans who were supposed to have jetted into Uganda this weekend and carry out a massive musical bombardment of Kampala have aba-ndoned the whole issue.
By Harry Sagara
Agorup of Ameri-cans who were supposed to have jetted into Uganda this weekend and carry out a massive musical bombardment of Kampala have aba-ndoned the whole issue.
All indications are that the Kool and the gang’s sojourn here is a hoax. Andrew Rugasira, the VR Promotions boss indicated this when he distanced his promotions firm from the whole issue.
“We are not involved in this concert. talk to Mr. Thiamo Rauf. We only worked with them during the initial stages†he said.
VR promotions is supposed to be the publicists for the Kool and the Gang concert.
According to the initial plans, over 250,000 Ugandans were to suffer the consequences of this raid and that this was bound to be the biggest ever ‘musical operation’ carried out in Sub-Sahar-an Africa during the reign of President George Bush.
The story went that soul music icons, Kool and the Gang were to hit town. The city was to be set ablaze with thousands of watts of Kool music.
The venue for the musical show was supposed to be Kololo airstrip and the date October 12, but to this day, everyone has kept mum about this whole arrangement.
It all started sometime early this year when Kool and the Gang founder member, Robert Kool Bell Kool visited Uganda and spoke of a grand concert aimed at spreading the anti-AIDS gospel.
This was followed up by the arrival of red-lipped and bearded American, Thiamo Rauf, some big-bodied chatterbox who speaks expertly on almost every topic.
Rauf is one sweet-tongued chap who would sell you sand in a desert!
Currently, Rauf’s whereabouts are as mysterious as those of alleged LRA rebel James Opoka
The group’s sojourn here is under the auspices of an NGO called Americans Unite Against Aids Globally (AUAAG), which is spearheading an anti-aids campaign called “Celebrate Live-No Glove No Love.â€
The Celebrate Life campaign is aimed at reinforcing and supplementing previous and current effective HIV/AIDS programmes and messages and bringing about positive behavioural changes in communities.
Early this week the group performed to thousands of Kenyans at the Carnivore gardens in Nairobi and have vowed to bring their verve and quality intonations to their Ugandan fans.
Robert ‘Kool’ Bell, the group leader, swears that the group is well prepared for the east African onslaught with lots of ‘Kool’ music in store.
“We shall have something great to offer to both our old and new fans,†He told Kenya’s Daily Nation newspaper last week.
The mention of Kool and the gang takes one down the memory lane to the days of bell-bottomed trousers and Afro hair style. They are the brains behind chart-bursting gigs like, Get down on it, Celebration, Cherish the love and Ladies Night to name but a few.
Based in New Jersey, Kool and the Gang was one of the most enduring and popular urban music groups of the 20th century, selling millions of albums during their 30-plus year history.
The group was first formed in Jersey City, N.J. in 1964 by bassist/keyboardist Robert ‘Kool’ Bell. Kool and the Gang recorded a string of highly successful horn-driven funk/dance albums throughout the 1970s.
Their first product was a disco, pop, and R&B hit Ladies Night. Their next hit Celebration became an international anthem.
Celebration was a song that virtually shook the world. The mellow song was chosen as official song of the 1981 Super Bowl –– the 1981 National Basketball Association Championships in the US. It topped the US Disco Charts in 1980 and stayed there for five weeks. Under the leadership of vocalist James ‘J.T’ Taylor, the band continued their commercial success in the 1980s, shifting from funk-disco to smooth, soulful pop.
Hits like Celebration, Cherish, and Joanna made the group one of the most popular lite rock acts of the ‘80s, but after the departure of Taylor in 1988 the group collapsed. However, in 1995 Kool and the Gang reunited with Taylor at the helm, and released a comeback album State of Affairs. To date the group has earned 27 gold and platinum albums and scored 25 R&B top 10 hits.
Agorup of Ameri-cans who were supposed to have jetted into Uganda this weekend and carry out a massive musical bombardment of Kampala have aba-ndoned the whole issue.
All indications are that the Kool and the gang’s sojourn here is a hoax. Andrew Rugasira, the VR Promotions boss indicated this when he distanced his promotions firm from the whole issue.
“We are not involved in this concert. talk to Mr. Thiamo Rauf. We only worked with them during the initial stages†he said.
VR promotions is supposed to be the publicists for the Kool and the Gang concert.
According to the initial plans, over 250,000 Ugandans were to suffer the consequences of this raid and that this was bound to be the biggest ever ‘musical operation’ carried out in Sub-Sahar-an Africa during the reign of President George Bush.
The story went that soul music icons, Kool and the Gang were to hit town. The city was to be set ablaze with thousands of watts of Kool music.
The venue for the musical show was supposed to be Kololo airstrip and the date October 12, but to this day, everyone has kept mum about this whole arrangement.
It all started sometime early this year when Kool and the Gang founder member, Robert Kool Bell Kool visited Uganda and spoke of a grand concert aimed at spreading the anti-AIDS gospel.
This was followed up by the arrival of red-lipped and bearded American, Thiamo Rauf, some big-bodied chatterbox who speaks expertly on almost every topic.
Rauf is one sweet-tongued chap who would sell you sand in a desert!
Currently, Rauf’s whereabouts are as mysterious as those of alleged LRA rebel James Opoka
The group’s sojourn here is under the auspices of an NGO called Americans Unite Against Aids Globally (AUAAG), which is spearheading an anti-aids campaign called “Celebrate Live-No Glove No Love.â€
The Celebrate Life campaign is aimed at reinforcing and supplementing previous and current effective HIV/AIDS programmes and messages and bringing about positive behavioural changes in communities.
Early this week the group performed to thousands of Kenyans at the Carnivore gardens in Nairobi and have vowed to bring their verve and quality intonations to their Ugandan fans.
Robert ‘Kool’ Bell, the group leader, swears that the group is well prepared for the east African onslaught with lots of ‘Kool’ music in store.
“We shall have something great to offer to both our old and new fans,†He told Kenya’s Daily Nation newspaper last week.
The mention of Kool and the gang takes one down the memory lane to the days of bell-bottomed trousers and Afro hair style. They are the brains behind chart-bursting gigs like, Get down on it, Celebration, Cherish the love and Ladies Night to name but a few.
Based in New Jersey, Kool and the Gang was one of the most enduring and popular urban music groups of the 20th century, selling millions of albums during their 30-plus year history.
The group was first formed in Jersey City, N.J. in 1964 by bassist/keyboardist Robert ‘Kool’ Bell. Kool and the Gang recorded a string of highly successful horn-driven funk/dance albums throughout the 1970s.
Their first product was a disco, pop, and R&B hit Ladies Night. Their next hit Celebration became an international anthem.
Celebration was a song that virtually shook the world. The mellow song was chosen as official song of the 1981 Super Bowl –– the 1981 National Basketball Association Championships in the US. It topped the US Disco Charts in 1980 and stayed there for five weeks. Under the leadership of vocalist James ‘J.T’ Taylor, the band continued their commercial success in the 1980s, shifting from funk-disco to smooth, soulful pop.
Hits like Celebration, Cherish, and Joanna made the group one of the most popular lite rock acts of the ‘80s, but after the departure of Taylor in 1988 the group collapsed. However, in 1995 Kool and the Gang reunited with Taylor at the helm, and released a comeback album State of Affairs. To date the group has earned 27 gold and platinum albums and scored 25 R&B top 10 hits.