World music, compiled by Stan Rijven.
Episode: European Football Championship – Football Songs
The Africa Cup qualifying has started in Africa, and in the next few weeks, the ‘oranjekoorts’ (orange fewer) will begin to spread. This will undoubtedly be accompanied by all kinds of football card from the present and the past. However, you’d never hear African football hits. Until tonight.
Football and music have made a strong team since the ’50s. That’s because, since the 50s, a lot of songs are played during football tournaments. Brazil, for example, was accompanied by the samba A Taça do Mundo é Nossa to the 1958 World Championship in Sweden; Spain went to Chili in 1962 while being accompanied by El rock del Mundial. Even FIFA started to use their own ‘official song’.
From the 60s onwards, football teams and their star players scored not only scored goals, they also scored hits. Like Pele with his Meo mundo es un futobol and Johan Cruyff with his Oei Oei Oei, dat was me toch een loei (1969). Liverpool FC annexed Rogers & Hammerstein’s composition You never walk alone from their Broadway musical Carousel from 1945. It will always be associated with turbulent football stadiums, thanks to Gerry & The Pacemakers.
However, this episode will only focus on football hits from Africa. Parallel to the emancipation of African football in the 80s, think about Roger Milla and Yannick Noah, many topic songs were released. Tonight, we’ll listen to a series of effective hits, like the homage to Roger Milla by Pepe Kallé and Youssou N’Dour’s Senegal team. There even is a musical match report by The Real Sounds that follows a match between two Zimbabwean teams. Manu Dibango unintentionally became the first who made an African football song famous all over the world.
We’ll start, however, with a football song by Real Sounds. This song is from 1990 and was released during the 14th World Championship in Italy when Cameroon was the first African team to reach the quarter-finals. In this song, the band cheer on their heroes like Lineker, Madonna, and Van Basten; the song is called Soccer Fan!
Playlist:
1. Real Sounds of Africa/ Soccer fan (1990) – Zimbabwe
CD: Football Crazy! (Emporio)- 1995
2. Manu Dibango/ Hymne de la 8e Coupe D’Afrique Des Nations- Kameroen
Single: Hymne de la 8e Coupe D’Afrique Des Nations (African)- 1972
3. Manu Dibango/ Soul Makossa- Kameroen
Single: Soul Makossa (Blue Elephant- 1973
4. Michael Jackson/ Wanna be startin’ somethin’- VS
CD: Thriller (Epic)- 1982
5. Youssou N’Dour/ The Lion, Gaïende- Senegal
CD: The lion (Virgin)- 1989
6. Ghetto Blaster/ Play that ball- Senegal
CD: Play Up (World Connection)- 2006
7. Pépé Kallé/ Roger Milla- Congo- Zaire
CD: Larger than life (Stern’s)- 1992
8. Waldemar Bastos/ Viva Angola – Angola
CD: Play Up (World Connection)- 2006
9. Evizo Stars/ Allo – Gabon
CD: Maxi Afrique (Declic Communication)- 1997
10. Franco & Le T.P.O.K. Jazz Chantent Le F.C 105 De Libreville
LP: Franco & Le T.P.O.K. Jazz Chantent Le F.C 105 De Libreville (Edipop) -1985
11. Atonga Zimba/ Kaneshi- Ghana
CD: Play Up (World Connection)- 2006
12. The Real Sounds/ Tornados vs Dynamos (3-3)- Zimbabwe
LP: Wende Zako (Cooking Vinyl)- 1987
