Biography

Dambala was an English roots reggae group that were formed the late summer of 1975 in West Hampstead by Gus Anyia and Alvin Christie. They released their first record in 1978, the disco »Zimbabwe«, a co-production with Dennis Bovell and Jimmy Lindsay. The disco was such a success that it reached #4 in the Black Echoes and Jazz Review 12" charts in June 1978. The group was somewhat unique in that not a single member was Jamaican, something that wasn't as accepted at the time.

Their second single was the song »Rebel« with Militant Barry doing the deejay verse. In 1978(?) the group was voted Most Promising Newcomers by the Black Music and Jazz Review readership. The group also performed on BBC TV and wrote the theme music for the program »Black British« (Channel 4). However after touring Holland, Germany and Belgium the group decided to split up. This was in 1979, the reason being tensions between members. Gus Anyia however continued to record under the groups name and released two albums, Rally Rally Round (1981) and Azania (1983). The other members of Dambala formed the group Inner Force who released one single (»Holiday«/»Am I Wasting My Time«) and then also split up.

Members

Augustus »Gus« Anyia (b. Nigeria) - Guitar

Alvin Christie (b. Liverpool)- Guitar

Horace McKenzie (b. Guyana) - Percussion

Thomas Cadette (b. St. Lucia) - Keyboards

James St. Louis (b. St. Lucia) - Bass

Kelvin Lovell (b. Barbados) - Drums

(Left to right) Gus Anyia, James. St Louis, Horace McKenzie, Kelvin Lovell, Alvin Christie, Thomas Caddette.

Discography

Albums

12 inch discos

7 inch singles