London African Gospel Choir
The London African Gospel Choir Perform Graceland
Paul Simon’s Graceland performed in full by The London African Gospel Choir, the show has been critically acclaimed across the country.
An uplifting and amazing show which sells out every venue and receives rave reviews from the audiences.
Thirty years after its release, the London African Gospel Choir perform their own powerful twist on Paul Simon’s ‘Graceland’ album, delivering from start to finish.
The richness & harmony of the Choir’s rhythmic, evocative & empowering, voices have created an overwhelming musical event, for anyone lucky enough to experience this special performance of Paul Simon’s Graceland, this is what they say:
“The most uplifting, energising evening I’ve had in years”.
“So many great songs so beautifully performed with so much energy and so many happy smiles.”
After coming across a bootleg cassette of South African township music in the early 80s, Paul Simon was totally smitten by the infectious & irresistible rhythms… He travelled to Johannesburg, spending two weeks there, recording with the absolute cream of South African musicians.
That epic session, went on to form the basis of Simon’s most commercially successful album ever – Graceland. The record became a true global phenomenon, winning Grammys in both 1987 & 88, shifting 5 million copies Stateside & then another 2.5 million copies in the UK alone. The Graceland album spawned the hit singles, ‘Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes’, ‘The Boy in the Bubble’ & it’s biggest smash – ‘You Can Call Me Al.’
“Best gig of Kendal Calling? Almost certainly. Instead of The Coral in a heaving Calling Out tent or Tinie Tempah on the main stage, for closure I choose the London African Gospel Choir performing Paul Simon’s Graceland on the Woodlands stage.”
“This is where the London African Gospel Choir was born” says founder and director Crystal Kassi. We’ve turned off a busy SE London street into a secluded enclave ringed by trees and terraced houses, their wooden, brightly painted verandas overlooking a communal garden with seats half-hidden by shrubs. Exchange the UK foliage for palm trees and we could be in Latin America, the Caribbean or Africa. It’s a fitting birthplace for a musical venture rooted in community and creative expression, and that’s brought African gospel out of the black churches and into the hearts of audiences worldwide.
The choir is made up of a collective of London based African singers, musicians and dancers who have performed to great acclaim with the likes of Emeli Sandé, Mumford and Sons and Annie Lennox, recorded with Idris Elba, the Go Team and many others and have headlined at venues such as the O2 Arena in London.
The London African Gospel Choirs interpretation has become one of London’s hottest tickets with its initial run of 2 nights being extended to 8 sell out shows in March alone…
