Back in the early days of online file-sharing, the 1973 album
Destruction (Orbitone OT 005) by the Nigerian group the Nkengas achieved legendary status, traded far and wide and included on numerous funky mixes. When an official
reissue came out in 2013 (Secret Stash Records SSR-CD-293), fans could satisfy their cravings legally.
The Nkengas released one other LP,
Nkengas in London (Orbitone OT 006, 1973), which I feature here. It's apparent even from a casual listening that this is a radically different recording than
Destruction. Every song save one ("Asa Mpete Special") features the vocals of the great highlife superstar
Chief Stephen Osita Osadebe.
What's going on here? The story, as best I can piece it together, involves a number of sessions in London in the early '70s, which produced some of Osadebe's most beloved recordings. At some point in the process members of Osadebe's backup band, the Nigeria Sound Makers, led by Victor Okoroego, defected, taking a master tape with them and marketing it as Nkengas in London. Destruction, on the other hand, is pretty much pure Okoroego save for one track, "London Special," with Osadebe on lead vocals.
After
Nkengas in London the group changed its name to the
Ikenga Super Stars of Africa, who were to achieve fame and fortune with a number of chart-topping hits. "Asa Mpete Special" on
Nkengas in London features Pele Asampete on vocals. This is a slightly reworked version of the Osadebe hit "Ezi Ogelidi" from the album
Egbunam (Philips 6361024, 1972). Asampete later left the Ikengas and did another version of this tune, "Ezi O Goli," on his solo LP (Rogers All Stars RASLPS 043). Pop/highlife star Chris Mba did still another remake in the early 1990s.
Download
Nkengas in London as a zipped file
here.
