Ambrose Campbell
| Ambrose Campbell | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Oladipupo Adekoya Campbell |
| Born |
19 August 1919 Lagos, Nigeria |
| Died | 22 June 2006 (aged 86) Plymouth, England |
| Genres | Highlife, jùjú music, jazz, rock, etc. |
| Occupation(s) | Singer, bandleader, guitarist |
| Instruments | Guitar, percussion |
| Years active | 1946–1990s |
| Labels | Melodisc, Columbia |
Ambrose Campbell (19 August 1919 – 22 June 2006) was a Nigerian musician and bandleader. He is credited with forming Britain's first ever black band, the West African Rhythm Brothers, in the 1940s, and was also acknowledged by Fela Kuti as "the father of modern Nigerian music". He worked with British jazz musicians in the 1950s, and later toured and recorded with Leon Russell in the US, where he lived for thirty years.
He was born Oladipupo Adekoya Campbell in Lagos, Nigeria, into a Christian family; his father was a preacher. He sang in the church choir, and also, nicknamed "Ambrose", started performing palm-wine music against the wishes of his family who kicked him out of the house when they discovered what he was doing. For a while he lived under the protection of nationalist leader Herbert Macaulay and worked as a printer, as well as a musician. He met guitarist Brewster Hughes in Lagos, and performed with him in the Jolly Boys Orchestra.
Soon after the start of World War II, Campbell joined the crew of an Elder Dempster cargo ship sailing to Britain. On its second voyage the ship was attacked by U-boats in the Atlantic, and Campbell jumped ship in Liverpool, soon moving to London where he came into contact with other members of the small Nigerian community, including Brewster Hughes who had also moved to the city. Campbell formed a band, but soon afterwards he was attacked by racist thugs at a London underground station; Hughes was later imprisoned for shooting one of the assailants. Campbell first came to public attention by performing with his band at the VE Day celebrations in Trafalgar Square and Piccadilly Circus in 1945. He said:
"People didn't know what was going on but they joined in. I suppose it was curiosity. Everybody had been waiting for that day so everybody was happy and jumping around and dancing and kissing each other, so we thought we'd join the celebration. We had a huge crowd following us around Piccadilly Circus. You could hardly move."
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