Playing For Change, Feb 13, 2021
“You can blow out a candle, but you can't blow out a fire.
Once the flames begin to catch, the wind will blow it higher.” – Peter Gabriel,
Biko
In honor of Black History Month, we are proud to bring the message of Peter Gabriel’s “Biko” back to the forefront, 40 years after its initial release. Inspired by the death of anti-apartheid activist Steve Biko while in police custody, this song’s relevance still holds true with the unfortunate police brutality that continues to take place in the USA, Nigeria and many places around the world. More than 25 musicians from seven countries join Gabriel for this global rendition to share a message of unity, peace, and hope, including Beninese vocalist and activist Angélique Kidjo, Silkroad’s Yo-Yo Ma, and bass legend Meshell Ndegeocello.
The eyes of the world are watching… Let each of us lead with love and let that love ripple throughout the universe.
Produced by Sebastian Robertson and Mark Johnson
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Edited by Azizi Powell
This pancocojams post showcase Peter Gabriel's song "Biko" and presents an excerpt of an 2021 article that includes information and commentary about that song.
This pancocojams post includes brief information about Stephen Biko, Peter Gabriel, and Playing For Change. My editor's note about how I learned about this song is also included in this post.
The content of this post is presented for historical, socio-cultural, political, and aesthetic purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to Stephen Biko and all others who have died unjustly. Thanks to Peter Gabriel for his song "Biko" and thanks to all those who are featured in this Playing For Change rendition of that song. Thanks also to all those who are quoted in this post and thanks to the publisher of this video on YouTube.
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PANCOCOJAMS EDITOR'S NOTE
I just became aware of Peter Gabriel's 1980 song "Biko" after reading a portion of that song's lyrics in a discussion thread comment for a YouTube video about the military coup in Gabon, Central Africa. That coup ousted President Ali Bongo Ondimba on August 30, 2023. Ali Bongo was president of Gabon after his father Omar's death in 2009. Those two were in power in Gabon for a total of 56 years.
In that YouTube discussion thread almost all of the comenters applauded Gabon's military coup and some commenters also listed certain African nations that they believe need to have military coups because of the leaders they have. Based on my reading of the comment that quoted lyrics from the song "Biko", the "You can blowout a candle/But you can't blow out a fire" lyrics refer to the commenters belief that the once lit, the spark of freedom can't be extinguished by will spread throughout the continent.
Here's the link to that video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l4lcLUEEth0. "Gabon: Life at standstill in Libreville, residents eagerly await 'what next' after coup" published by africanews, August 30,2023. Here's the summary statement for that video:
"When there is instability in a nation, the army sides
with the majority. Today, our army has sided with us. We have risen as one to
say that we support the Gabonese army. And we warn the countries plotting lies
and deception who are going to attack our military, that we are going to form
ourselves"
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ARTICLE EXCERPT: BIKO SONG
From https://headbutler.com/reviews/you-can-blow-out-a-candle-but-you-cant-blow-out-a-fire-once-the-flames-begin-to-catch-the-wind-will-blow-it-higher/ “You can blow out a candle/ But you can’t blow out a fire/
Once the flames begin to catch/ The wind will blow it higher”
…”Now consider South Africa. Steve Biko, a 30-year-old black
activist, was the country’s most important young black leader. He was arrested
in 1977 for being outside his district after hours and because the police had
“reason to believe” he was distributing inflammatory pamphlets. He was held,
naked and rarely fed, in a Port Elizabeth police station from August 19 to
Sept. 6. He suffered a head injury. Then he was taken 800 miles, naked and
manacled in the back of a Land Rover, from Port Elizabeth to Pretoria, where he
died. The official cause of death: “brain injury.”
Many black men in South Africa were killed by the police, without any officials charged, during those years. But Biko’s murder galvanized black opposition more than any murder since the 1960 police massacre of 62 protesters in Sharpeville.
Peter Gabriel, who was morally sensitive before there was a name for it, wrote a song. It was banned in South Africa, where the government saw it as a threat to security. But it was an international hit, and it’s credited for making resistance to apartheid part of western popular culture. Gabriel donated the proceeds — about $60,000 — to the South African Black Consciousness Movement. And not least, it was the final song of his concerts for a few years. A fan recalls: “The crowd chanted the final part of the song for what seemed like ten minutes after the band had left the stage.” Another remembers a 1988 concert in Buenos Aires: “70,000 candles singing ‘Biko.’” Bono said that “‘Biko’ is where my journey to Africa began.” Later, there was a not so great movie, starring Denzel Washington. ...
Peter Gabriel has made a new recording of the song. You’ll see many musicians you don’t know and a few you do: Meshell Ndegeocello, Yo-Yo Ma — what he does with his bow at 1:53 is thrilling — and Angélique Kidjo. It’s a benefit for the Playing for Change Foundation. As I write, it’s raised $48,000 of a desired $50,000. To donate, click on the button on the video.
These are the lyrics:
September ’77
Port Elizabeth weather fine
It was business as usual
In police room 619
Oh Biko, Biko, because Biko
Oh Biko, Biko, because Biko
Yihla Moja, Yihla Moja
The man is dead
The man is dead
When I try to sleep at night
I can only dream in red
The outside world is black and white
With only one colour dead
Oh Biko, Biko, because Biko
Oh Biko, Biko, because Biko
Yihla Moja, Yihla Moja
The man is dead
The man is dead
You can blow out a candle
But you can’t blow out a fire
Once the flames begin to catch
The wind will blow it higher
Oh Biko, Biko, because Biko
Yihla Moja, Yihla Moja
The man is dead
The man is dead
And the eyes of the world are watching now, watching now.
[…]
Why write about this now? Because police are killing more and more black people in our country. It’s always “accidental.” It looked like he had a gun. He had an air freshener dangling from his rear view mirror and when we made a routine stop, he ran. We had the wrong address. How were we to know the 13-year-old kid in the playground had a toy gun? I had my knee on his neck for nine minutes, but it only looks like murder. And on and on.
It’s difficult to sustain outrage now; there are too many events, they happen so frequently they blur, pandemic fatigue has become pandemic trauma, and we’ve had the vaccine, we’re desperate to get out and do whatever.
I have a thought.
Somebody ought to write a song as good as “Biko.” "
-snip-
Here's information about the song "Biko" from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biko_(song)
" "Biko" is an anti-apartheid protest song by
English rock musician Peter Gabriel. It was released by Charisma Records as a
single from Gabriel's eponymous third album in 1980.
The song is a musical eulogy, inspired by the death of the black South African anti-apartheid activist Steve Biko in police custody on 12 September 1977. Gabriel wrote the song after hearing of Biko's death on the news. Influenced by Gabriel's growing interest in African musical styles, the song carried a sparse two-tone beat played on Brazilian drum and vocal percussion, in addition to a distorted guitar, and a synthesised bagpipe sound. The lyrics, which included phrases in Xhosa, describe Biko's death and the violence under the apartheid government. The song is book-ended with recordings of songs sung at Biko's funeral: the album version begins with "Ngomhla sibuyayo" and ends with "Senzeni Na?", while the single versions end with "Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika".
"Biko" reached No. 38 on the British charts, and was positively received, with critics praising the instrumentation, the lyrics, and Gabriel's vocals. A 2013 commentary called it a "hauntingly powerful" song,[7] while review website AllMusic described it as a "stunning achievement for its time".[8] It was banned in South Africa, where the government saw it as a threat to security.[9] "Biko" was a personal landmark for Gabriel, becoming one of his most popular songs and sparking his involvement in human rights activism. It also had a huge political impact, and along with other contemporary music critical of apartheid, is credited with making resistance to apartheid part of western popular culture. It inspired musical projects such as Sun City, and has been called "arguably the most significant non-South African anti-apartheid protest song".[10]
[...]
The lyrics of the song ["Biko"] begin in a manner similar to a news
story, saying "September '77/Port Elizabeth, weather fine". The next
lines mention "police room 619", the room in the police station of
Port Elizabeth in which Biko was beaten.[21] The English lyrics are broken up
by the Xhosa phrase "Yila Moja" (also transliterated "Yehla
Moya") meaning "Come Spirit": the phrase has been read as a call
to Biko's spirit to join the resistance movement, and as a suggestion that
though Biko was dead, his spirit was still alive.[22]"...
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MORE INFORMATION ABOUT STEPHEN BIKO
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Biko
"Bantu Stephen Biko (18 December 1946 – 12 September 1977)
was a South African anti-apartheid activist. Ideologically an African
nationalist and African socialist, he was at the forefront of a grassroots
anti-apartheid campaign known as the Black Consciousness Movement during the
late 1960s and 1970s. His ideas were articulated in a series of articles
published under the pseudonym Frank Talk.
[…]
Influenced by the Martinican philosopher Frantz Fanon and
the African-American Black Power movement, Biko and his compatriots developed
Black Consciousness as SASO's [the South African Students' Organisation]
official ideology. The movement campaigned for an end to apartheid and the
transition of South Africa toward universal suffrage and a socialist economy.
It organised Black Community Programmes (BCPs) and focused on the psychological
empowerment of black people. Biko believed that black people needed to rid
themselves of any sense of racial inferiority, an idea he expressed by
popularizing the slogan "black is beautiful". In 1972, he was
involved in founding the Black People's Convention (BPC) to promote Black
Consciousness ideas among the wider population. The government came to see Biko
as a subversive threat and placed him under a banning order in 1973, severely
restricting his activities. He remained politically active, helping organise
BCPs such as a healthcare centre and a crèche in the Ginsberg area. During his
ban he received repeated anonymous threats, and was detained by state security
services on several occasions. Following his arrest in August 1977, Biko was
beaten to death by state security officers. Over 20,000 people attended his
funeral.
Biko's fame spread posthumously. He became the subject of
numerous songs and works of art, while a 1978 biography by his friend Donald
Woods formed the basis for the 1987 film Cry Freedom.... Biko became one of the earliest
icons of the movement against apartheid, and is regarded as a political martyr
and the "Father of Black Consciousness"...
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MORE INFORMATION ABOUT PETER GABRIEL
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Gabriel
"Peter Brian Gabriel (born 13 February 1950) is an English
singer, songwriter, record producer, and activist. He rose to fame as the
original lead singer of the progressive rock band Genesis.[1] After leaving
Genesis in 1975, he launched a successful solo career with "Solsbury
Hill" as his first single. His fifth studio album, So (1986), is his
best-selling release and is certified triple platinum in the UK and five times
platinum in the US. The album's most successful single, "Sledgehammer",
won a record nine MTV Awards at the 1987 MTV Video Music Awards and, according
to a report in 2011, it was MTV's most played music video of all time.[2]
Gabriel has been a champion of world music for much of his
career. He co-founded the WOMAD festival in 1982.[3] He has continued to focus
on producing and promoting world music through his Real World Records label. He
has pioneered digital distribution methods for music, co-founding OD2, one of
the first online music download services.[4] Gabriel has also been involved in
numerous humanitarian efforts. In 1980, he released the anti-apartheid single
"Biko".[3] He has participated in several human-rights benefit
concerts, including Amnesty International's Human Rights Now! tour in 1988"...
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MORE INFORMATION ABOUT "PLAYING FOR CHANGE"
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Playing_for_Change
"Playing For Change is a multimedia music project, featuring
musicians and singers from across the globe, co-founded in 2002 by American
Grammy award-winning music producer/engineer and award-winning film director
Mark Johnson and film producer/philanthropist Whitney Kroenke. Playing For
Change also created in 2007 a separate non-profit organization called the
Playing For Change Foundation, which builds music and art schools for children
around the world.
Origin
Playing For Change (PFC) was founded in 2002 by Mark Johnson
and Whitney Kroenke.[1][2] Mark Johnson was walking in Santa Monica,
California, when he heard the voice of Roger Ridley (deceased in 2005)[3]
singing "Stand By Me"; it was this experience that sent Playing For
Change on its mission to connect the world through music.[4]
Travelling the world with a small film and recording team, producers Johnson and Enzo Buono developed a mobile recording studio (originally powered by golf cart batteries) for recording and filming musicians live outdoors, and progressively editing all the separate artists, blending all into one performance as PFC travelled from artist to artist, country to country. Starting with a studio made demo in the right key and tempo, "we would deconstruct [the track]" as each recorded musician or singer could listen with headphones to what had been recorded before them, and playing the same song, adding into the mix their own style. [5][6] For the project Johnson has recorded and filmed music in more than 50 countries across the world.[7]
More than 150 -- mostly street -- musicians from 25
countries have combined their talents to create a global phenomenon with
millions of followers across the world."...
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