Summary
Released in 1982, Toto's soft-rock anthem has become an unlikely viral smash-hit.
Africa is a song that has changed lives, helped to raise thousands of pounds for charity and provided an unexpected musical cornerstone in a critically acclaimed play.
Ralf Schmidt is the Artistic Director of Ndlovu Youth Choir which is made up of young people from the poorest parts of South Africa. Incredibly, the choir made it to the final of America's Got Talent, one of the biggest entertainment shows in the world. Ralf's exuberant, irresistible and uniquely African arrangement of Toto's Africa was their stand-out performance. (Brief extract of AGT (c) Fremantle USA and Syco Entertainment)
Michael Savage (aka DJ Michael Vinyl) of Prime Cuts record shop in Bristol, staged what could be considered a night of torture when he played Africa non-stop for twelve hours at a club. As Mike and Olivia Perry recall, this was to raise money for the Bristol based charity, Temwa, which operates in Malawi. They expected a handful of people to turn up, but the event had worldwide attention and was a huge success.
Mike Massé's life was completely changed following his release on YouTube of what many consider to be one of the best Africa cover-versions ever recorded. The main photo is of Mike Massé (photo credit: Jim Mimna).
David Greig is the Artistic Director of the Lyceum Theatre in Edinburgh; an esteemed playwright with intellectual clout. So, why did he include Africa in one of his plays? Well, he nearly didn't, but then he saw the light.
And, Abigail Gardner, a reader in music at the University of Gloucestershire, explains why Africa - originally a US No. 1 for just a week in 1982 - has recently undergone a strange modern rebirth, making it one of the most streamed songs on the internet.
Series about pieces of music with a powerful emotional impact.
Producer: Karen Gregor
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in January 2020.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Before you listen to this BBC podcast, I'd like to quickly tell you about some others. |
| 0:05.2 | My name's Andy Martin and I'm the editor of a team of podcast producers at the BBC in Northern Ireland. |
| 0:11.3 | It's a job I really love because we get to tell the stories that really matter to people here, |
| 0:16.3 | but which also resonate and apply to listeners around the world. |
| 0:19.6 | And because the team is such a diverse |
| 0:21.2 | range of skills and strengths, we have trained journalists, people who love digging through |
| 0:26.0 | archives, we've got drama and even comedy experts. We really can do those stories justice. So if |
| 0:31.8 | you like this podcast, head to BBC Sounds where you'll find plenty more fascinating stories |
| 0:37.1 | from all around the UK. BBC Sounds where you'll find plenty more fascinating stories from all around the UK. |
| 0:40.1 | BBC Sounds, music, radio, podcasts. |
| 0:43.8 | Our choir is a group of young people and was started 10 years ago as part of the orphan |
| 0:48.8 | and vulnerable children's program. Just after the AIDS denialism days in South Africa, |
| 0:53.7 | the AIDS pandemic, the next wave of it was, of course, the orphans that were left behind. |
| 0:58.0 | The choir was started as part of that program and just grew from there. |
| 1:02.0 | Two years ago, we never in our wildest dreams thought that we'd be where we are now. I'm Ralph Uphu' I'm Ralph Schmidt and I'm the artistic director of the Ndlovo Youth Choir. |
| 1:20.6 | We just want to express hope and joy to the world |
| 1:24.6 | and show what is possible with young people from all over the place. |
| 1:28.3 | I'm going to walk. |
| 1:32.3 | I hear the world with Africa. |
| 1:38.3 | China and we're Africa. |
| 1:40.3 | What's the wood to with Africa? |
| 1:42.3 | Travelism here are going tonight. Most of a week with Africa Family of them are Africa |
... |
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