Joe Strummer's London Calling BBC Radio Shows

From 1999 to 2002 Joe Strummer the frontman of The Clash hosted a radio show for the BBC World Service. The show followed a very simple format with Joe spinning the records he had gathered from being a teenager living in Africa and Latin America to the reggae and rock records that would later become a tremendous influence in the music of The Clash. London Calling really did have a bit of music to suit any persons taste. Personally this is where I first heard much of the music that I now regularly listen to including artists like Big Youth, Francoise Hardy, Sonny Okosun, R. Dean Taylor, and music styles like Congolese rumba. I've heard that all the shows that Joe did are available for download on iTunes however the download that I am making available here has four shows which were re-aired by the BBC in 2007 in honor of Joe Strummer's death. I really recommend this one to anyone out there as you can really discover some great music on these shows.

Show1

·    Cool Breeze - Big Youth

·    Stairway to the Stars - Ella Fitzgerald

·    Not Fade Away - Rolling Stones

·    Up Around the Bend - Creedence Clearwater Revival

·    Jeeny- Afel Bocoum

·    Castles Made of Sand - Jimi Hendrix

·    Shoba - A Sambe Siye E Goli (Let’s Go to Jo’burg)

·    Swingtown - Steve Miller Band

 Show 2 

·    Hit the Road Jack- Big Youth

·    Fire in Soweto - Sonny Okosun

·    Nursery Rhyme - Bo Diddley

·    “I Got Life” (Ain’t Got No)- Nina Simone

·    Crawfish - Elvis Presley

·    Rez - Underworld

Show 3

·    Blitzkrieg Bop - Ramones

·    The Freedom Fighters - The Upsetters

·    Tous Les Garcons et Les Filles - Francoise Hardy

·    Gwandir - Nasha

·    Corinna Corinna - Bob Dylan

·    Syncopate- The Astronauts

·    Nguellel - Baba Sek

·    Public Enemy #1 - Max Romeo

Show 4

·    Feeling Time - Joy White

·    Azara Al Hay - Rasha

·    Tippy Toes - The Meters

·    Cumbia Saramuya - Los Corraleros De Majagual

·    Wang Dang Doodle - Koko Taylor

·    Tumbling Dice - Rolling Stones

·    Hatisi Tose - Bhundu Boys

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Nigeria Special (2) Sonny Okosun

Sonny Okosun is arguably one of the most recognized and famous Nigerian artists after Fela Kuti. Much like with Fela, Okosun's music was heavily influenced by politics and the social issues going on in Africa at the time. One of his mos famous songs is Fire in Soweto which talks about the different struggles and conflicts happening in Africa at the time and how the common man was the one that kept being the most affected by these. He developed his own sound so much so that his music came to be simply known as Ozziddi. The sound quality is a bit rough on some of these songs but give them a listen as they are great and do a great job of showing the harsh realities that the African continent has and continues to face to this day.

1. Third World
2. Fire in Soweto
3. Tire Ni Oluwa
4. Tell Them
5. My Woman

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Black Star LIner Reggae From Africa

Black Star Liner is a great album for anyone out there who has even a remote interest in reggae or also for the people out there who are more than experts on the genre. This album gives you a great introduction into some of the best groups to come out of 1970's Africa. Nigeria's Bongos Ikuwe, Sonny Okosun, Sir Victor Uwaifo and Cloud 7 or Sierra Leone's Sabanoh 75 are some worth mentioning. But really all the songs and artists on this album are great and I highly recommend it to anyone with any sort of interest in reggae or rock music.

1.

Sonny Okosun - Third World

2.

Sabanoh 75 - Carry On

3.

Cloud 7 - You Can Make It

4.

Bongos Ikwue & The Groovies - Still Searching

5.

Sabanoh 75 - Leaking Heart

6.

Victor Uwaifo & His Titibitis - Destiny

7.

Miatta Fahnbulleh - Kokolioko

8.

Sonny Okosun - Fire In Soweto

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