SI - Nurturing Music Stars From GCI & An Excursion To Early Fame
If music be the food of love, play on, that surfeiting, the appetite may sicken and so die - William Shakespeare (Twelve Night)
Stardom is exhilarating. Early exposure to it is even more so. In 1967, some of the greatest moments for new entrants into Government College
Ibadan, were the times that the school band, Sound Incorporation (SI) performed on stage.
Members of the band were considered the real superstars in school, and non-members in a manner of speaking, practically worshipped the ground upon which those budding musicians trod. Therefore, SI became an aspiration extra-curricular group that any bschoolboy who felt he had musical talent aspired to be part of.
SI began as the 'Tornadoes' in 1965. The founding members included Kayode Williams; Enobakhare, Sola Cole and my immediate elder brother, Adebooye Owolade aka boibu. By the time the Tornadoes transformed to SI in 1967, the year of my admission, it was led by Enobakhare, with Boibu and Adeola as Vocalists; Alonge was on rhythm guitar, whilst Sola Cole played the keyboard. The new name was brought on by a need to have a name that was considered dynamic and with chic appeal.
In 1969, my brother, Boibu I, became the leader of SI. One of his key achievements was the founding of SI-II, which comprised junior students, as a second string, feeder platform for SI-I, that consisted of senior students. Alonge, the musical director of SI-I, who then was in Lower Six, assisted by Sola Cole, took charge of recruitment into SI II.
They auditioned everyone thought he was good enough for the band. Majority of the sucessful budding musicians were from my Class. They included, Akin Osho aka Ome and Yomi Fagbulu, harmonica; Bankole Cole, Keyboard; Richard Waite, lead rhythm guitar; Augustus Piper, bass guitar; and Tony Adedoyin, drums; and I - vocals. We were all ecstatic on confirmation as members of the band because we knew that our status would be enhanced. One of the immediate derivable benefits was that we were permitted, even as Form Three students, to wear trousers as against shorts mandatory for junior boys up to form III.
The popularity of SI-I and SI-II soared as time went by so much so that by 1971 there was need to create another feeder band to SI-II. As a result, SI-III was formed. Among its members were Sina Fagbenro aka Byron and Dayo Adekola who I understand is in Lagos combining his busy legal schedule with his own band. Fagbenro and Adekola were both on vocals. My younger brother, Tunde Owolade, Boibu-III, was also a member. In 1972, Bisade Ologunde, now an iconic international music star joined the band. SI-II also took in a few new members between 1970 and 1971. These include, Adebanjo aka Barry Bone, lead rhythm guitar; Tunde Ogunnaike, bass guitar; Sola Olugbesan, keyboard; and Debola Adejobi, congas. The continuity of SI was thus assured with the automatic progression of members from SI-III to SI-II to SI-I.
Sound Incorporation was the most popular school band in Ibadan. It easily dwarfed bands from International School and Ibadan Grammar School. Every now and then, we played in other schools. We were immensely popular in the girls' schools, notably Queen's School, St. Anne's; Yejide Girls Grammar School; St. Louis Grammer School; and St. Theresa's. We played mostly at their end-of-year parties, which were big events because all our senior boys were present. Even without the strobe lights and klieg lights that define entertainment today, we walked on air and felt light-headed each time we were called on stage to play. We were stars; we were the cynosure of all eyes and how we shone brilliantly!
We wowed our audiences with songs like 'Please, Please, Please; It's a Man's World; Oye Como Va; and 'Samba Pa ti' by Carlos Santana; as well as various songs by Jimmy Cliff and Otis Reddings. My personal favorite was Oya re (We're Going) by Osibisa. we achieved much of our fame with just one drum that SI owned. We hired all other musical instruments from Rational Bookshop, Ibadan and from the Apola King, Idowu Animashaun. We raised money from token gate-takings as well as individual levy of members and payments by schools that invited SI to play. We derived more fun from our performances than from the money we got.
On leaving GCI, members of SI all moved on. Boibu-I played his guitar and was the most accomplished musician among the Boibu brothers. Sadly, both Boibu-I and Boibu-III have passed on. Dayo Adekola aka Daddy Kool, played the saxophone and established a band in spite of his busy legal practice. Bisade Ologunde took on a pseudo name and leads a famous band. The rest in history. Vocalists like me did not progress musically like our counterparts who were instrumentalists.
About five years after our departure, SI still sunctioned, thereafter the band most probably ceased to exist; no thanks to the South West Nigeria governments' educational policy that scrapped that scrapped the boarding house system in schools. By this time, too, GCI had ceased to be what we knew it to be - the citadel of all round excellence.
Culled from 1967 Set's Book - Fifty Years, Not Out
PHOTO DESCRIPTION
A - Dayo Adekola (1970) on Vocals, Femi Fajemisin (1970) and Gboyega Akindeko (1970) were the Lead Guitarist and Bass Guitarist respectively, Juwon Adenuga (1971) was the Keyboardist, Babafemi Fariyike (1970) played the Drum Set and Leye Thompson (1971) (backing the stage) - Vibraphone on stage during one of the SI Shows in the good old days.
http://www.gcimuseum.org/content/si-band-gci
B - Dayo Adekola (1970) on the Vocals and Fajemisin (1970) on the Guitar during one of the Sound Incorporation Shows at GCI in the early 70's.
http://www.gcimuseum.org/content/si-band-members-gci
C - Odutayo (1967) - the Bassist, and Fagbenro-Byron Sina (1970) - the Lead Singer; performing as Sound Incorporation II members in 1972 during one of the SI Shows at Government College Ibadan.
http://www.gcimuseum.org/content/si-show
Pictures submitted by Rotimi Ogunjobi (1970), Dayo Adekola (1970) and Sina Fagbenro-Byron (1970) respectively.