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
| Title | label | Year | matrix/Cat. # | Country of issue | Comment (incl producer & format cd/LP) |
| Rally Rally Round | Isis | 1981 | IS002 | UK | Cover states the cat # to be IS001, but matrix says IS002. Might have been released in 1979. |
| Azania | Dada Music | 1983 | UK | Produced by Gus Anyia. |
12 inch discos
| Side 1 | Side 2 | Label | Year | Matrix/Cat. # | Country of issue | Comment |
| Zimbabwe | Visions of War | Music Hive Records | 1978 | MH 001 | UK | Produced by Jimmy Lindsay and Dennis Bovell. The label also stated 28-4-78, perhaps the exact date of release. The song Zimbabwe is very similar to Barabas by the Twinkle Brothers. |
| Rebel | Militant Dub | Isis Records | 1979 | ISIS001 | UK | Produced by Dambala. Militant Barry deejays on Militant Dub |
| Ain't No Sunshine (Jimmy Lindsay) | Take Six (Exodus), And Ting (Dambala) | Music Hive Records | 1978 | MH 002 | UK | Jimmy Lindsay features Dambala on side A. |
| Me & My Dread (Pauline) | Revelation (Dambala) | Rough Lion | 1980 | UK | ||
| Rally Rally Round | Dub version | UK | http://popsike.com/php/detaildata.php?itemnr=180100580492 |
7 inch singles
| Side 1 | Side 2 | label | Year | matrix/Cat. # | Country of issue | Comment |
| Babylon | No Go | Red Nail Records | 1979 | RIC 107 | UK | Produced by Gus Anyia. Music is Dambala featuring Gus Anyia. |