A special concert marking 125 years of black music in Britain is now available on BBC Sounds as part of Radio 2’s The Music is Black season.
Recorded at Hackney Empire in London, The Music is Black: Live at the Hackney Empire is hosted by Trevor Nelson and DJ Spoony and brings together performers from across several musical genres, backed by the Chineke! Orchestra and LJ Singers under the direction of Chris Cameron.
The event was created in collaboration with Jacqueline Springer’s exhibition at the V&A East Museum and explores the influence of funk, soul, reggae, 2-Tone, jazz and UK garage on British music culture.
Artists featured in the concert include Omar, Alison Limerick, Elisabeth Troy, Rhoda Dakar and saxophonist Courtney Pine.
Together they perform a selection of well-known tracks including Back to Life, Crazy Love, Flowers, There’s Nothing Like This, Children of the Ghetto, Can You Feel The Force, Where Love Lives, Let’s Do Rocksteady and You To Me Are Everything.
The evening opens with the Chineke! Orchestra and LJ Singers performing Can You Feel the Force before Alison Limerick takes to the stage with Where Love Lives and Sista Mother Child.
Courtney Pine performs Children of the Ghetto and Claudia Jones, while Rhoda Dakar revisits the 1980s with Let’s Do Rocksteady and What a Wonderful World.
The second half begins with a mash up of Back to Life and Return of the Mack from the orchestra and singers, followed by Flowers.
Elisabeth Troy performs Crazy Love and Enough Is Enough before Omar delivers There’s Nothing Like This, I’ve Been Waiting and There’s Much Love in the World.
The concert concludes with a performance of You To Me Are Everything, bringing together an evening that celebrates the contribution of black artists and musical genres to Britain’s cultural history.
The Music is Black: Live at the Hackney Empire is available now on BBC Sounds and will also be broadcast on BBC Radio 2 on Sunday 28 June from 8pm to 10pm.
