Hey, it’s my lawn sound track! Two of my most revelatory and memorable experiences from 1985 in the years BIWCWM (Before it was called ‘World Music’) were lawn-based: the extraordinary voice and multi-instrumental skills of Bagamoyo’s Hukwe Zawose on a sunny afternoon lawn in the park beside the Commonwealth Institute, and Zimbabwe’s mighty Thomas Mapfumo and the Blacks Unlimited tearing up the grass on a Wednesday night twixt-festivals at South Hill Park in Bracknell. The last time I saw Hukwe was on a lawn as well, on an open day at the Real World studios in rural Box. Real World have given a home to so many others of my favourite artists over the years too, more recently the likes of Bristol’s very own Spiro – witnessed not so long ago playing to the animatronic dinosaurs at dusk on the Lawn at Bristol Zoo. Oh, and I could even show you a snap of Ayub Ogada jamming on my very own bijou patch when I used to live in London. And so many other non-turf-related artists too. Just looking at the track list for this collection is quite boggling, and all in a mere 25 years. Fantastic job! Fantastic taste! Long may your grass grow!
