Speakeasy & Zero Mile Present Cymande

From the venue:

Cymande (sah-man-day). The most important black British group of their generation, a band so many people have heard, but yet not “heard of.” In the early 1970’s in South London, a group of black musicians, who all emigrated to the UK from the Caribbean as children, formed the group. Led by Patrick Patterson (guitars, vocals) and Steve Scipio (bass, vocals) Cymande was so unique and ahead of its time that, notwithstanding the success in the States in the early ‘70s, it hasn’t been until recent years that the general public has truly begun to catch on. Their first three albums: Cymande (1972), Second Time Round (1973) and Promised Heights (1974) combined jazz, funk, soul, and Caribbean grooves to create a unique sound of their own; music that was both political and spiritual. While they found success in the U.S. (referred to above) becoming the first British band to ever perform at New York’s legendary Apollo Theater and touring arenas and stadiums with Al Green, there was little enthusiasm from the British music industry to promote or patronize home grown black acts individually or as a collective scene. “Total lack of interest,” Steve says bluntly. “Had we been a white rock band returning to the UK we wouldn’t have been ignored, and that impacted on our thinking at the time.