Late Ambrose Oladipupo Campbell: celebrating Africa’s most unsung hero, the Grandfather of Nigeria music.
Ambrose Oladipupo Campbell
For almost two weeks or more, the whole world has been agog with the celebration of a rare gem, an unsung hero of all time and one of the musical pride of Africa, particularly Nigeria where he was born.
The memory of the musical ingenuity of legend Ambrose Oladipupo Campbell has been crawling into the memories of hundreds if not thousands of Afro and Juju music faithful across the world.
Hundreds have been paying tributes to him, expressing regrets that little had been heard about him despite his immense contribution to the development of music at various levels both in Africa, Europe and America.
The most painful aspect of this musical colossus history is that at a time Nigerian music is attaining an international acceptability and recognition, little credit has been offered the man Fela Anikulapo Kuti once referred to as the ‘Father of Modern Nigerian music’ little did we know that Oladipupo had retained an honourable and historic position as a grand father of all time in the Afro/juju music scene and world of music history.
For almost four decades, his works have been pilfering materials by many musical legends of our time, many of who could have been sold the lyrics inadvertently by music writers who had supplied such works for financial benefits to unsuspecting musicians (as song writers) to use as part of musical tracks in their works.
Ambrose Oladipupo Campbell
Indeed today, the lid has been rubbed off and it has been revealed now that Ambrose Campbell is the real brain behind so many classic musical lyrics enjoyed by millions of Juju and Afro music lovers across the world.
Born Oladipupo Adekoya Campbell in Lagos, Nigeria, on August 19, 1919, Ambrose Campbell was the leader of Britain’s first-ever black band, The West African Rhythm Brothers
The group made its first public appearance in London at the May 1945 celebrations in honor of VE Day, performing in Piccadilly Circus as their fellow Londoners celebrated the Nazis’ defeat. IIn 1946 the West African Rhythm Brothers toured the U.K. in support of Les Ballets Nègres, Britain’s first black ballet company.
Sadly enough, non of his works has been given credits and surprisingly, when called upon to comment on this point during one of his rare interviews, all he could say was that he felt elated that many behind him had been enjoyed the benefit of his musical ingenuity. He never bothered for any evidence or voice out any regret about how millions had been milked away from his hand work.
He had been an inspiration to many both on music stage and beyond across Africa, Europe and America.
Latoya Aduke Ekemode in her remark about Ambrose on the facebook:”Na my BABA be this oooo! Baba Rosy as we call him in the U.S., introduced me to Nigeria ,many years ago.I met him when I was 18 years old and my life changed…Many big Music Stars in the U.S. and England knows him personally….and it is true Nigeria did not reach out to him when he really wanted to come, but then, that is Nigeria. But even if Nigerian did not appreciate Him, He appreciated himself and anyone who knew him love him. He was and always will be a Brilliant Soul…..
Read little remarl about Cambbell written by Feyi Raimi-Abraham
In the wake of Black History month in the UK, I remember one who deserves to be acknowledged as a pioneer in his own right.
It was on an over cast but warm summer’s evening in 2006 – two weeks after his death – that I discovered Ambrose Campbell. I regretted the fact that I had just missed the musician…just when I had found him!
If only he was still alive, I thought, I would make contact by any means possible and do all I could to showcase him.
I would ensure that the present generation of Nigerians, especially Nigerians in the UK, got to know about his contribution to the musical landscape of the London jazz scene. I would also strive to ensure that in his twilight years, the maestro would enjoy fame once again, this time, amongst “his own”.
Tears welled up in my eyes as I read the various online tributes and comments that had been written about this man. Perhaps because of his apparently unassuming nature and humility, Ambrose Campbell remains in a sense, an unsung musical hero – even amongst Nigerians.
Oladipupo ‘Ambrose’ Adekoya Campbell was born in Lagos, Nigeria on August 19, 1919. He was the son of a church minister and started out by singing in the church choir. In his teens, Campbell worked as a printer in central Lagos. He would also often play the tambourine with some of his friends at the home of Herbert Macaulay.
Campbell left Nigeria to arrive in Liverpool in the throes of World War II in the early 1940s. He subsequently moved to London where he assembled a band in response to taunts from some of the “local” Londoners who didn’t quite appreciate the arrival to the west-end of the African and his cohorts.
Ambrose Campbell flanked by Gboyega Adelaja, Duncan Brooker, Dejo Odeyinka, 'Labi and Ayo Thomas-300
Campbell and his friends performed at Trafalgar Square and Piccadilly Circus during the VE Day celebrations when World War II ended; he appeared on British television; co-founded the West African Rhythm Brothers (WARB); and his band accompanied Britain’s first black ballet company Les Ballets Nègres.
Campbell and his band played in the jazz venues of London’s west-end, including a club calledAbalabi on Berwick Street in Soho, which was owned by a fellow Nigerian, Ola Dosunmu. Ola Dosunmu and his English wife, later opened another club on Wardour Street called Club Afrique – the WARB performed there too.
Ambrose Campbell was a celebrated figure in bohemian Soho, and his friends and contemporaries included British jazz greats Ronnie Scott and Johnny Dankworth.
Campbell moved to America in 1972 where he continued to be involved in music. He performed on Willie Nelson’s One for the Road, and received a gold disc for his recording. Ambrose Campbell returned to the UK in 2004, settled in Plymouth, and died on June 22, 2006 at the age of 86.
When Campbell died, a plethora of obituaries were written in British newspapers. The obituary in The Times opened with the following words:
Ambrose Campbell - Nigerian-born musician whose relaxed African rhythms and harmonies made a stir in drab postwar Britain. That tribute went on to state that Campbell led what may well have been the first band of British-based black musicians.
He formed his band several years before the Empire Windrush docked at Tilbury from the Caribbean, two decades before the first Notting Hill carnival and more than 40 years before the term “world music” was invented.
An article in the Observer, written a few months before his death, was more explicit and stated that Campbell was the founder of Britain’s first Black band!
I am not aware that any Nigerian newspaper reported his death – but I stand to be corrected. Three and a half years on however, I continue to ask myself why this erstwhile “son of the soil” appeared not to have been celebrated in the land of his birth.
What does one have to do to be recognised for one’s achievements? What are the criteria for nomination of a national honour?
Or is it that Nigerians are reluctant to celebrate Unpretentiousness and Simplicity?
It would, of course, be unfair to make such a sweeping assumption. But it does appear that…thisprophet was without honour in his own land.
Feyi Raimi-Abraham is the Principal Consultant/CEO of Zaynnah Ltd a UK based consultancy. Feyi is also the author of Zaynnah Blog
His last interview as posted by Segun Fajemisin / Mediaworks UnLimited
*Ambrose Campbell lifted the lid on his life and music in this memorable discussion with five devotees of his music and personae. An enigma up to his death, this as well might have been his last known interview.
On Sunday 24th October 2004, five men who are as diverse in background as professional orientation travelled to Plymouth on the south coast of England, bound by a theme: their consummate love of music. Especially, music of a rare gem as in Ambrose Oladipupo Adekoya Campbell. Armed with a mini-disk recorder, a digi-cam and an unbounded enthusiasm to share the elder’s knowledge, little did they realize that it would be the last formal chitchat that Papa would share with kindred from his musical family. They all met with the trademark Campbell conviviality and shared in an evening of fun, taken on a trip back in time.
The ensuing encounter of that blustery day in 2004 would remain more than just an interview; it is an insight into the life and times of the man described as part of the story of Soho in the 1950s. Beloved by London’s jazz community, including saxophonists Tubby Hayes and Ronnie Scott, his acknowledgment as a cultural figure traverses an astounding assortment of fans including the playwright George Bernard Shaw.
Shaw, despite being famously vegetarian, reportedly had chicken cooked for ‘Les Ballets Negres’, Britain’s first black ballet company formed in 1946 and in which Campbell prominently featured. Back home, many musicians also tapped into Campbell’s musical inventiveness.
And despite that scores of Nigerian musicians are proud beneficiaries of his rare gift, it is astonishing that none of these artistes gave Ambrose Campbell credits for his works copied in either the lyrical or inspirational form. This much was acknowledged by the genial man of music himself.
Ambrose Campbell, the octogenarian musician who bestrode the 50′s musical terrain in the United Kingdom like a colossus was born in Lagos on August 19 1919 and passed away in the UK on 22 June 2006. He was survived by two daughters and three sons.
What you are about to read is a condensed extract from the over two hours of interview conducted with Ambrose Campbell in Plymouth. It bears largely the mark of philosophical reflections of a soft-spoken man of great dignity.
Tell us about your music and the underlying philosophy
There is not much one can say than to thank God, that me at 86, I still have music that a young man like you appreciates. That shows you that somehow, good things last. Music is a universal language and it’s a thing which is very close to man. The heartbeat of a child right from his mother’s womb is his first connection to beats, and to music. I hope that one day, in the nearest future I’ll be able to tell my story in full because, if anybody had told me that I will become what I became, I would not have believed it, it was pure determination.
I was born into a very prominent family but I was warned not to disclose my background to the public because, mine was a family of judges, and one of them may have passed judgments that were unfavourable to some people, and if they could not get at you, they might want to go after the children.
So I was warned to guide my background. I was also warned not to go after money as if it was the end to life. That’s why I’ve lived this long because if I was after money, I’d have long destroyed myself. I’d have been so pompous and big headed. But then, I love women. Always give your best to whatever you do and whatever you sincerely believe in. Don’t give up, you’ll surely get there.
I made a decision in life to play the kind of music I’m playing today, not for anybody but because it was what I felt deep inside that I wanted to do.
Every instrument I play is what I feel, and it comes from the inside but, the only thing I haven’t got the chance to do is to really put together the kind of band of musicians I would have loved to assemble, to express what I feel. If I could do this then, I would have been fulfilled.
Music is a thing that tells you to speak as you see it and, as you feel it. Children are just like that. They talk as they feel but, we should be able to control what we feel.
I want to believe that those who made up the story of Adam and Eve, and who the father and mother of the whole world were, knew what they were talking about. The only thing I don’t agree is when they say the devil tempted them, then they made love, and God chased them out of the Garden of Eden. No! That to me does not make any sense, because if I gave you something and you don’t use it then what’s the use and what’s the good thing in it?
God made the woman and the man. They have to fall in love and they have to make love, and it is out of this lovemaking that we are all here, if our fathers and mothers didn’t meet we won’t be here today, so how can that be wrong? That is my question!
But besides everybody who’s alive today has a right to life, a right to eat, a right to breath, and a right to sleep because once you’re dead you don’t need it, therefore we have to take care of one another.
Africa is a very rich and blessed continent, but how come it’s the poorest of all? Millions of people are starving and we all sit down doing nothing about it. I’m willing to use my music to contribute to any cause to raise money for the emancipation and development of Africa, but then I need everyone of you to also support that cause because we’re all related in a way. So let’s reason together and tackle our problems sincerely instead of making and giving excuses because some people out there are lining their pockets and getting richer from all the propaganda going on.
The name Ambrose Campbell does not sound Nigerian. How did it come about, and what is your full name?
My real names are Ambrose Oladipupo Adekoya Campbell. During the colonial days, when we were still governed by the British every child that was born during the time and was baptized is given an English name, that explains where my name came from. I cannot tell you that I am from this particular tribe because Lagos is in my blood; Ibadan is in my blood, likewise Ife, Ijebu, and Abeokuta. You know our people were mainly traders and they moved around quite a lot, so they mixed and married wherever they settled. Just like I’m here now, with my great grand-children. These here are my fourth generation.
Did you ever think when you came to England, for the first time, over 50 years ago that you’d have great grandchildren, living here?
Well, nobody ever knows what the future holds; man proposes, God disposes, you never can tell. This takes us back to what I was saying that there was yesterday, today, and tomorrow. Yesterday, you can’t bring back; today is the decision to make and to clear your conscience because once it goes you can’t take it back. Tomorrow is to come, so what we really are, is now. What makes people age quickly, is the conscience, it can kill you if you don’t clear it, and what can only set you free is the truth. It doesn’t matter how long it takes.
You are aware that some musicians (especially the younger ones) have used your works without giving you credit..?
Quite a lot of people have copied and used my works without giving me credit but, it’s a thing of joy to know that you created something which other people see as good enough to copy it. Ironically though, my own parents disowned me because of this same music; even a lot of my brothers and sisters looked down on me because they thought with music, I was only going to sing to people and beg for my next meal.
One remarkable encounter with your father after you veered into playing music…
My father was a Bishop. So the day we had the opportunity of having to come face to face with each other and talk, I told him with a very strange boldness that you gather with your congregation every Sunday and discuss more or less, the same thing; Whereas my music is heard all over the place, and not just in a congregation. So I think I’m doing a better job than you. He was stunned at that kind of answer from me, but he’s a man of God so he realized that I wasn’t the one that was talking. He then said to me that anytime I needed any form of help, he’d assist me but, that I have to go my own way because people were giving him their children to bring up, and if his own son cannot be brought under control, then they’d fear that their children would not be in safe hands.
So what was the reaction of your brothers and sisters after you’ve made a success of your talent?
Well, they respected me for what I am. They were very happy and we have never discussed it again. I’m like that; if I have an argument with you yesterday, and we meet the next day, I’d not bring the issue up again because if you really want to make lasting friendship then don’t bring back issues, so as not to stir things up again.
How long have you been away from Nigeria?
I came here in 1940, and I was born in August 1919. I lived in America, as a matter of fact I went to America in 1972 and only came back last year (2003). While in the U.S I did quite a lot of things and met quite a lot of people.
How did you get your band boys to understand your thoughts and how were they able to interpret the music just the way you wanted it?
Well sometimes they might not think of the idea but once you give them the idea, it’s enlarged in their own mind; they have their own version of the thing and I always arrange all my music because I’m a drummer myself and there’s one thing about drumming, you’ve got to be able to dance to it and sing to it. That is why I really want to make one good beautiful band that will record some of the ideas I’ve had in my head for the past 30 years. I must say that what I have in my head is just too much.
Do you have an idea of the kind of musicians you’d like to work with?
I know the kind of people I have in mind. Some of them are too big and I have worked with quite a few of them. God has given me most of the things I need to make this come to fruition; it is a lifetime opportunity which we mustn’t lose for anything. We have to thank God that I’m still here, alive and in good condition, to be able to talk to you.
Music is like a healing thing. It is magical, and it’s a connection between man and God. That is why it touches your heart. Our music is related to every other music in the world and I’ve travelled around the world to know so, and the world knows this too. Europeans and Americans have come to Nigeria and some other African countries to study our music, record them, and take it back and publish it and explain it in their own way. But, they cannot really do much because they don’t understand it. I mean, drumming is not just banging.
We’d like to know about Club Afrique and how long you ran the club and kept the place going?
Yes, before Club Afrique there was Abalabi Club in (Soho’s Berwick Street Market) which later turned to Club Afrique and many great musicians like Fela, Jimmy Scott etc, played there. They all played with me then.
Were the musicians you used for the emerging music a band you’ve been working with, or a group of individuals you just gathered together?
Well, the thing is that at that time we have each other and they understand the music. And when I have a gig that I could pay them, I’ll ask them to come along but I cannot keep them as a band because I was not making the money to engage them, full time. I remember talking with Coleman, (one of my guitarists), about how big this thing can get, and then he said “yes, but the horse must eat something before the grass grows.” And I just shut up.
I’m very happy that you all realize the worth of this music; it’s not because it’s my music. In fact it’s not my music, it’s our music. We have a part to play in the world of music because we borrow from each other and every musician does that at one time or the other.
Apart from the church choir, who were the musicians you were listening to as a young boy, while growing up?
Well, I was lucky to have travelled widely in Nigeria because being the son of a Bishop he moved around quite a lot and the choir of the church he’s visiting usually would play all night and I used to sit with them, and listen and wherever we go, the music is unique and different.
© Segun Fajemisin / Mediaworks UnLimited
London April 2008
(Special thanks to Ayobami Thomas for the material contribution to this piece)
http://new.music.yahoo.com/ambrose-campbell/
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Your type of journalism is so unique in presentation, structure, and in style far better than some of those quatity and yellow journalism. keep it up