Steve Biko's death, 1977 (Peter Gabriel's song, 1986)

Song about Steve Biko, a noted black South African anti-apartheid activist. Biko had been arrested by the South African police in late August 1977. After being held in custody for several days, he was interrogated in room 619 of the Walmer Street prison in Port Elizabeth, Eastern Cape. Following the interrogation, during which he sustained serious head injuries, Biko was transferred to a prison in Pretoria, where he died shortly afterwards, on 12 September 1977. 

Gabriel often plays the song at the end of concerts, encouraging the audience to join in the singing, and eventually leaving only the drummer on stage. The album version of the song is bookended by a recording of the South African song "Senzeni Na?" as sung at Biko's funeral. It was first played on South African TV and radio stations after apartheid was abolished in 1990.

September '77Port Elizabeth weather fineIt was business as usualIn police room 619Oh Biko, Biko, because BikoOh Biko, Biko, because BikoYihla Moja, Yihla Moja-The man is dead

When I try to sleep at nightI can only dream in redThe outside world is black and whiteWith only one colour deadOh Biko, Biko, because BikoOh Biko, Biko, because BikoYihla Moja, Yihla Moja-The man is dead
You can blow out a candleBut you can't blow out a fireOnce the flames begin to catchThe wind will blow it higherOh Biko, Biko, because BikoYihla Moja, Yihla Moja-The man is dead

And the eyes of the world arewatching nowwatching now

Peter Brian Gabriel (born 13 February 1950) is an English singer, musician, songwriter and activist who rose to fame as the lead vocalist and flautist of the progressive rock band GenesisInspired by the social activism he encountered in his work with Amnesty, in 1992 Gabriel co-founded WITNESS, a non-profit group that equips, trains and supports locally-based organizations worldwide to use video and the internet in human rights documentation and advocacy.

Youssou N'Dour (French pronunciation: ​[jusu nˈduʁ]; born 1 October 1959) is a Senegalese singer, percussionist, songwriter, composer, occasional actor, businessman and a politician. 
In Senegal, N'Dour became a powerful cultural icon, actively involved in social issues. In 1985, he organized a concert for the release of Nelson Mandela. He was a featured performer in the 1988 worldwide Amnesty International Human Rights Now! Tour collaborating with Lou Reed on a version of the Peter Gabriel song Biko which was produced byRichard James Burgess and featured on the Amnesty International benefit album The Secret Policeman's Third Ball. He worked with the United Nations and UNICEF, and he started Project Joko to open internet cafés in Africa and to connect Senegalese communities around the world.

Amy Winehouse two year's absence...

Amy Jade Winehouse (14 September 1983-23 July 2011) was an English singer and songwriter known for her deep contralto vocals and her eclectic mix of musical genres including R&B, soul, jazz, ska and reggae.

BACK TO BLACK

"Back To Black"

He left no time to regret

Kept his dick wet

With his same old safe bet

Me and my head high

And my tears dry

Get on without my guy

You went back to what you knew

So far removed from all that we went through

And I tread a troubled track

My odds are stacked

I'll go back to black

We only said goodbye with words

I died a hundred times

You go back to her

And I go back to.....

I go back to us

I love you much

It's not enough

You love blow and I love puff

And life is like a pipe

And I'm a tiny penny rolling up the walls inside

We only said goodbye with words

I died a hundred times

You go back to her

And I go back to

We only said goodbye with words

I died a hundred times

You go back to her

And I go back to

Black, black, black, black, black, black, black,

I go back to

I go back to

We only said good-bye with words

I died a hundred times

You go back to her

And I go back to

We only said good-bye with words

I died a hundred times

You go back to her

And I go back to black

Homage to Nelson Mandela...

... on his 95 birthday!!!!

(2008)

Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela (Xhosa pronunciation:   [xoˈliːɬaɬa manˈdeːla]; born 18 July 1918) is a South African anti-apartheid revolutionary and politician who served as President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999. He was the first black South African to hold the office, and the first elected in a fully representative, multiracial election. His government focused on dismantling the legacy of apartheid through tackling institutionalised racism, poverty and inequality, and fostering racial reconciliation. Politically an African nationalist and democratic socialist, he served as the President of the African National Congress (ANC) from 1991 to 1997.
Mandela served 27 years in prison, first on Robben Island, and later in Pollsmoor Prison and Victor Verster Prison. 

Don't you know 
They're talkin' bout a revolution 
It sounds like a whisper 
Don't you know 
They're talkin' about a revolution 
It sounds like a whisper 
While they're standing in the welfare lines 

Crying at the doorsteps of those armies of salvation 
Wasting time in the unemployment lines 
Sitting around waiting for a promotion 

Poor people gonna rise up 

And get their share 

Poor people gonna rise up 

And take what's theirs 

Don't you know 
You better run, run, run
Oh I said you better 
Run, run, run

Finally the tables are starting to turn 
Talkin' bout a revolution


Tracy Chapman was born in Cleveland, Ohio in 1964. She was raised by her mother, who recognized Tracy's love of music and, despite not having much money, bought her a ukulele when she was just three.

MICHAEL JACKSON's MUSIC will live forever!

MICHAEL JACKSON was born on 
August 29, 1958, in Gary, Indiana. He was the eighth of ten children in an African American working-class family who lived in a three-room house in Gary, an industrial city near Chicago. His mother, Katherine Esther Scruse, was a devout Jehovah's Witness, and his father, Joseph Walker "Joe" Jackson, was a steel mill worker who performed with an R&B band called The Falcons. Jackson had three sisters: Rebbie, La Toya, an Janet, and five brothers: Jackie, Tito, Jerrmaine, Marlon, and Randy.



On June 25, 2009, Michael Jackson died while in his bed at his rented mansion at 100 North Carolwood Drive in the Holmby Hillsdistrict of Los Angeles. 
Jackson's death triggered a global outpouring of grief.

I WANT YOU BACK
When I had you to myself, I didn't want you around
Those pretty faces always make you stand out in a crowd
But someone picked you from the bunch, one glance is all it took
Now it's much too late for me to take a second look

Oh baby, give me one more chance
(To show you that I love you)
Won't you please let me back in your heart
Oh darlin', I was blind to let you go
(Let you go, baby)
But now since I've seen you it is on
(I want you back)
Oh I do now
(I want you back)
Ooh ooh baby
(I want you back)
Yeah yeah yeah yeah
(I want you back)
Na na na na

Trying to live without your love is one long sleepless night
Let me show you, girl, that I know wrong from right
Every street you walk on, I leave tear stains on the ground
Following the girl I didn't even want around

Let me tell ya now
Oh baby, all I need is one more chance
(To show you that I love you)
Won't you please let me back in your heart
Oh darlin', I was blind to let you go
(Let you go, baby)
But now since I've seen you it is on

All I want
All I need
All I want!
All I need!

Oh, just one more chance
To show you that I love you
Baby baby baby baby baby baby!
(I want you back)
Forget what happened then
(I want you back)
And let me live again!

Oh baby, I was blind to let you go
But now since I've seen you it is on
(I want you back)
Spare me of this cost
(I want you back)
Give me back what I lost!

Oh baby, I need one more chance, hah
I'd show you that I love you
Baby, oh! Baby, oh! Baby, oh!
I want you back!
I want you back!

The A Team (2011). ED SHEERAN

Ed Sheeran

The A Team

White lips, pale face
Breathing in snowflakes
Burnt lungs, sour taste
Light's gone, day's end
Struggling to pay rent
Long nights, strange men

And they say

She's in the Class A Team

Stuck in her daydream

Been this way since 18

But lately her face seems

Slowly sinking, wasting

Crumbling like pastries

And they scream

The worst things in life come free to us

Cos we're just under the upperhand

And go mad for a couple of grams

And she don't want to go outside tonight

And in a pipe she flies to the Motherland

Or sells love to another man

It's too cold outside

For angels to fly

Angels to fly! 

Ripped gloves, raincoat
Tried to swim and stay afloat
Dry house, wet clothes
Loose change, bank notes
Weary-eyed, dry throat
Call girl, no phone

And they say

She's in the Class A Team

Stuck in her daydream

Been this way since 18

But lately her face seems

Slowly sinking, wasting

Crumbling like pastries

And they scream

The worst things in life come free to us

Cos we're just under the upperhand

And go mad for a couple of grams

But she don't want to go outside tonight

And in a pipe she flies to the Motherland

Or sells love to another man

It's too cold outside

For angels to fly

An angel will die
Covered in white
Closed eye
And hoping for a better life
This time, we'll fade out tonight
Straight down the line

And they say
She's in the Class A Team
Stuck in her daydream
Been this way since 18
But lately her face seems
Slowly sinking, wasting
Crumbling like pastries
They scream
The worst things in life come free to us
And we're all under the upperhand
Go mad for a couple of grams
And we don't want to go outside tonight
And in a pipe we fly to the Motherland
Or sell love to another man
It's too cold outside
For angels to fly
Angels to fly
To fly, fly
Angels to fly, to fly, to fly
Angels to die

Edward Christopher Sheeran, artísticament conegut com Ed Sheeran (17 de febrer de 1991) és un cantant icompositor anglès. Criat a Framlingham, Suffolk, el 2008 es va traslladar a Londres seguir una carrera musical. A principis de 2011, Sheeran va llançar el Projecte de Col·laboracions núm. 5, que va cridar l'atenció tant d'Elton John com de Jamie Foxx. Després va signar amb Asylum Records. El seu àlbum debut de 2011, contenia els singles "The A Team" i "Lego House", va ser certificat quíntuple platí al Regne Unit. 

Rosa Parks 100th anniversary!

Civil Rights Pioneer

Rosa Parks was born on February 4, 1913, in Tuskegee, Alabama. Her refusal to surrender her seat to a white passenger on a Montgomery, Alabama bus in 1955 spurred a city-wide boycott. The city of Montgomery had no choice but to lift the law requiring segregation on public buses. Rosa Parks received many accolades during her lifetime, including the NAACP's highest award.

"At the time I was arrested, I had no idea it would turn into this. It was just a day like any other day. The only thing that made it significant was that the masses of the people joined in."

– Rosa Parks

Proud to be black!

Men at Work. DOWN UNDER (1981)

   

DOWN UNDER

Men at Work sing about travelling the world and what it means to come 'from a land down under’.

The term Down Under is a colloquialism which is variously construed to refer either to Australia and New Zealand, or to Australia or New Zealand alone. The term comes from the fact that these countries are in the Southern Hemisphere, 'below' many other countries on the globe.

The persistence of the media use of the term has led to its wide embrace and usage. The Men at Work song "Down Under" became an instantly recognisable, patriotic rallying song. 

Songwriters: Strykert, Ronald Graham / Hay, Colin James

Traveling in a fried-out combie
On a hippie trail, head full of zombie
I met a strange lady, she made me nervous
She took me in and gave me breakfast
And she said,

"Do you come from a land down under?
Where women glow and men plunder?
Can't you hear, can't you hear the thunder?
You better run, you better take cover."
Buying bread from a man in Brussels
He was six-foot-four and full of muscles
I said, "Do you speak-a my language?"
He just smiled and gave me a vegemite sandwich
And he said,

"I come from a land down under
Where beer does flow and men chunder
Can't you hear, can't you hear the thunder?
You better run, you better take cover."

Down Under (1981)

Released in 1981, this catchy pop song was written as a light ‘tongue-in-cheek’ dig at Australian values. It became a number one hit in Australia, the UK and US and is still played regularly today as an unofficial Australian national anthem.