Fela - Kalakuta Notes - Second Edition

Jul 30, 2026

Fela: Kalakuta Notes documents the life, creative process, and lasting international impact of Fela Kuti and Afrobeat. Structured with an introduction, three major parts spanning early days, confrontation, and retrospect, it gathers firsthand memories and interviews alongside a chronology, notes, selected bibliography, and extensive discography. A foreword frames Fela’s enduring cultural force and the global “Felabration” response that continues to evolve through music and other art forms.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages345

Reading Time14 h 29 min

AccessFree to download

Foreword

Introduction

Part One - Early Days

The Birth of Afrobeat

Joe Mensah Remembers

Fela in Ghana

Stan Plange Remembers

Part Two - Confrontation

The Kalakuta Is Born

“J. B.” Talks about Fela

The Kalakuta Republic

The Black President

Amsterdam and After

Part Three - Retrospect

Mac Tontoh on Fela

Frank Talk about Fela

Obiba Plays It Again

Smart Binete Sorts It Out

Anku Checks Out the Beat

Nana Danso Orchestrates

Some Early Afro-Fusion Pioneers

Interview with Fela

Afterthoughts and Updates

Felabrations at Home and Abroad

Chronology

Notes

Selected Bibliography

Discography

Appendix A: “Shuffering and Shmiling” Score

Index

fela john c ollins Forew ord by b anning e yre d isc ography by r onnie g raham Kala K uta notes se c ond edition Wesleyan University Press Middletown, Connecticut Wesleyan University Press Middletown CT 06459 [www.wesleyan.edu/wespress](www.wesleyan.edu/wespress)[ ](www.wesleyan.edu/wespress)© 2015 John Collins Foreword © 2015 Banning Eyre All rights reserved Manufactured in the United States of America Designed by Mindy Basinger Hill Typeset in Albertina MT Pro New, revised, and expanded edition of Fela: Kalakuta Notes, © KIT Publishers, 2009. Wesleyan University Press is a member of the Green Press Initiative. The paper used in this book meets their minimum requirement for recycled paper. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Collins, John, 1944– Fela: Kalakuta notes / John Collins; foreword by Banning Eyre; discography by Ronnie Graham.—Second edition. pages cm.—(Music/Interview) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-8195-7539-5 (pbk.: alk. paper)— ISBN 978-0-8195-7540-1 (ebook) 1. Fela, 1938–1997. 2. Musicians—Nigeria—Biography. I. Title. ML410.F2955C67 2015 781.63092—dc23 [B] 2014042402 5 4 3 2 1 Cover illustration: Fela at a Brixton show, London, 1983. Photo by Jak Kilby. t o my wi F e and son, d o vi h elen and t homas Ko jo c ollins contents Foreword by Banning Eyre ix Introduction 1 part one Early Days 1. The Birth of Afrobeat 27 2. Joe Mensah Remembers 41 3. Fela in Ghana 49 4. Stan Plange Remembers 55 Part two Confrontation 5. The Kalakuta Is Born 67 6.“J. B.” Talks about Fela 73 7. The Kalakuta Republic 81 8. The Black President 114 9. Amsterdam and After 125 part three Retrospect 10. Mac Tontoh on Fela 139 11. Frank Talk about Fela 152 12. Obiba Plays It Again 165 13. Smart Binete Sorts It Out 174 14. Anku Checks Out the Beat 178 15. Nana Danso Orchestrates 183 16. Some Early Afro-Fusion Pioneers 197 17. Interview with Fela 204 18. Afterthoughts and Updates 209 19. Felabrations at Home and Abroad 238 Chronology 259 Notes 269 Selected Bibliography 281 Discography 285 Appendix A: “Shuffering and Shmiling” Score 303 Index 309 Foreword Fela Kuti (1938–1997) and Afrobeat are here to stay. It is fair to say that no African musician has ever exerted such a powerful cultural force during his lifetime and left such an extensive and resonant international legacy after his death. Rather than fading, Fela’s stature and influence worldwide keeps growing year by year as young musicians come together to form Afrobeat bands, DJs and remixers chop and dice Fela classics, and all known art forms—dance, poetry, theater, film, photography, painting—come together in myriad annual expressions of “Felabration.” Much has been written about Fela, his life and work, and much more will be in the future. But this book assumes a unique place in the Fela literary canon because of its author, aman with the perspective, knowledge, and access to Fela’s story to render it with the style of a novelist, the precision and detail of a historian, and the musical insight of an insidertothe creative process. John Collins went to Ghana as a child when his father, Edmund Collins, brought the family there from England to help set up the University of Ghana’s philosophy department in 1952. Collins’s mother took him back to England for schooling, but he rejoined his father in Accra in 1969 and has mostly lived there ever since, becoming a naturalized Ghanaian. Collins is today a renowned archivist, producer, author, and a professor

FAQs

What does the book focus on regarding Fela Kuti and Afrobeat?

It centers on Fela Kuti’s life and work, emphasizing his creative process and the broad cultural legacy of Afrobeat. It also highlights how his influence grows internationally through music and other art forms.

How is the book organized?

It is divided into an Introduction and three main parts: Early Days, Confrontation, and Retrospect. Each part contains multiple chapters, followed by Chronology, Notes, Selected Bibliography, Discography, an Appendix, and an Index.

What supplementary materials are included besides the main chapters?

The volume includes Chronology, Notes, a Selected Bibliography, a Discography, Appendix A with “Shuffering and Shmiling” score, and an Index. These support deeper study of events, sources, and recordings.

Jul 30, 2026

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