Zombie

Zombie

The fury stirred up among the Nigerian police and military by Felaâ€™s confrontational Alagbon Close (1974) and Kalakuta Show (1976), and the beatings and harassments Fela and Africa 70 suffered as a consequence, were as nothing compared to the reprisals following 1976â€™s Zombie. Within months of its release, a brutal army attack left Felaâ€™s Kalakuta Republic compound burnt to the ground and many of its residents, including Fela, assaulted and seriously injured. On the title track, over an urgent, quick-march accompaniment from Afrika 70, Fela and the backup singers ridicule the mindset of men in uniform. â€œAttention! Quick march! Slow march! Salute!â€ sings Fela, â€œFall in! Fall out! Fall down! Go and kill! Go and die! Go and quench!â€ Each phrase is followed by the women singersâ€™ taunting response, â€œZombie!â€ Fela continues: â€œNo brains, no job, no sense joro jara jo; tell am to go kill joro jara jo; tell am to go quench joro jara jo (meaning, â€œno brains, no job, no sense left right left; tell him to go kill left right left; tell him to go die left right left.â€) The armyâ€™s response was terrible... On 18 February, 1977, around 1,000 soldiers, most of them armed, swooped on Kalakuta. They cordoned off the surrounding area, broke down the wire fence around the communityâ€™s buildings, and battered their way into the central structure. Occupants were stripped and barbarously abused: particularly unfortunate men had their testicles beaten with rifle butts; particularly unfortunate women were raped (another had her nipples crushed between stones). Fela was badly beaten, sustaining a fractured skull and several broken bones. His mother, then aged 77, was thrown out of a window, fracturing a leg and suffering deep trauma. The army then set fire to the compound and prevented the fire brigade reaching the area. The blaze gutted the premises, destroying six Afrika 70 vehicles, all Felaâ€™s master tapes and band equipment, a four-track recording studio, all the residentsâ€™ belongings and, for good measure, the free medical clinic run by Felaâ€™s brother, Dr Beko Ransome Kuti (who was also severely beaten in the attack). The first journalists to arrive on the scene were assaulted by soldiers. Inquisitive passers-by were similarly set upon. The army didnâ€™t want any witnesses.
Country USA
Brand FAMILY
Manufacturer Knitting Factory Records
Binding Vinyl
ItemPartNumber EVP-720841206118
ReleaseDate 2016-10-14
UnitCount 1
UPCs 720841206118
EANs 0720841206118

Country	USA
Brand	FAMILY
Manufacturer	Knitting Factory Records
Binding	Vinyl
ItemPartNumber	EVP-720841206118
ReleaseDate	2016-10-14
UnitCount	1
UPCs	720841206118
EANs	0720841206118

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