Dambala

Dambala was a UK roots reggae group that were formed the late summer of 1975 in West Hampstead by Gus Anyia and Alvin Christie. The group was somewhat unique in that not a single member was Jamaican, something that was rare at the time. They released their first record in 1978, the disco "Zimbabwe", a co-production with Dennis Bovell and Jimmy Lindsay. This record was such a success that it reached #4 in the Black Echoes and Jazz Review 12" charts in June 1978. Their second single was the song "Rebel" with Militant Barry doing the deejay verse. The group was voted Most Promising Newcomers by the Black Music and Jazz Review readership. The group also performed on BBC TV and wrote the theme music for the program "Black British" (Channel 4). However after touring Holland, Germany and Belgium the original line up disbanded. This was in 1979, the reason being tensions between members. Gus Anyia however continued to record under the groups name and released several singles, including Rally Rally Round 12" (1980) and the album, Azania (1983). The other members of Dambala formed the group Inner Force, who released one single (Holiday/Am I Wasting My Time) and then also split up.