Obituary
Just seen on Twitter that the man behind Afro-Celt Sound System and The Imagined Village has died. Quite the groundbreaker, being amongst the first to appreciate how folk could mix so well with electronic dance music. ‘A prolonged illness’, so that cancer bastard I guess. 67, which as we know here is no age for dying. RIP.
He will be much missed. The ACSS were always fantastic live.
I’ve just seen the sad news on FB. The Afro Celts were always a joyous night out and that joy will be his legacy
Blinkin’ ‘eck. I am gutted. I met him a few times in connection with The Imagined Village. It didn’t matter how many years since he’d last seen you, he always came over to say Hello. A man with his big heart in the right place.
How sad. The first and second albums were soundtracks to my life at a pivotal time for me and the person I was with at the time. I loved the natural connection between the different musical forms that made me want to dance – they were joyful.
It was touching to read how Sinead O’Connor helped the band at a difficult moment when a founder member. Jonas Bruce died in his late 20s. Contributing the lyrics to this song apparently helped them reconcile to his loss. It’s one of my favourites of theirs – so cathartic – and just seems a good one to post
Let us not forget also the genius of Working Week.
I was just going to add that, as Simon Booth he was indeed the genius of Working Week and before that, Weekend.
A nice video for Venceremos (We Will Win) with the jazz dancers. . The 12″ included vocals by Robert Wyatt and Tracey Thorn.
Dipped into Wiki and discovered that, as Simon Booth, he also played guitar on EBTG’s first album Eden.
Yes, a real shock. I interviewed him along with Johnny Kalsi a few years ago and they were both brilliant and generous with their time. He produced Show of Hands’ album Witness, which is well worth a listen – it contains probably my favourite Beatles cover as well.
Ah, yes, If I Needed Someone is in my DJ box. You can’t say that about much Show Of Hands.
Those first two Imagined Village records are wonderful.
He wrote this one off the first; Pilsdon Pen. Think he lived in Dorset, and the hill is near Bridport.
I’m reminded by Wikipedia that he produced Baaba Maal’s Firin’ In Fouta album, one of my favourite African albums of the 1990s.
Just found this out today. A huge talent and seemingly almost no ego; it seemed to be all about the directing and the collaborating with him.
And yes, the Afro Celts are one of the best live bands I’ve ever seen.
Here’s the Songlines obituary.
https://www.songlines.co.uk/news/obituary-simon-emmerson-1956-2023
And Peter Paphides’ Tweet:
“At 14, this was the first time I heard Robert Wyatt. First time I heard about Victor Jara, to whom this was dedicated. Emerging stars (Tracey Thorn) alongside British jazz legends (Harry Beckett). All the audacious, brilliant vision of the young Simon Emmerson. #RIPSimonEmmerson”