Songs for the soul

Co-founder of Europe’s leading gospel choir says he loves the beauty of the Irish singing voice.

Bazil Meade of the London Community Gospel Choir, which celebrated its 40th birthday last year, has in the past worked with the likes of Paul McCartney, Brian May, Madonna, Gorillaz, Sting, Kylie Minogue and Tina Turner to name but a few.

As well as recording the backing track for ‘Circle of Life’ in The Lion King, nominated for Best Original Song at the 1995 Academy Awards, Bazil and the LCGC featured in Love Actually and have also performed for the Queen and Nelson Mandela.

Later this month, as part of the Drumlinia Music Festival and Industry Week (October 20-27), he’ll once again host a vocal choir workshop in Cavan, the success of which in 2023 is still being talked about 12 months on.

“I love to hear Irish voices, particularly the women. They’ve the most soulful tone. I think it’s because Irish people, similar to the Black race, have faced persecution. That gives you a rooting. It’s in the DNA. So when you do things like singing, that emotion becomes the engine room.”

When the Celt catches up with Bazil he’s walking through Brentwood, a still leafy commuter belt town just north of London stretching claw. He’s just been to visit Hidden Hearing for a check-up. “My most vital tools for music,” he laughs. His is a deep chuckle, full of timbre and Caribbean warmth. “You gotta keep them in shape,” he says of his ears.

Bazil is looking forward to returning to Cavan for the Drumlinia festival, founded by “good friend” and long time collaborator Don Mescall.

It’s an event he feels is “brimmings” with potential.

Gospel, unsurprisingly, is Bazil’s “passion”. So it excites him to carry its resonance to a new place and audience.

“That’s been my life and I’m still really enjoying it. The big performances with thousands of people of course, but getting up close with people and sharing with them, that’s what I really live for.”

The music’s history is important too. “To understand the journey, the origins, hence the songs and the way in which we sing comes from the soul.”

A native of Montserrat, a small island in the West Indies, Bazil’s mother left to work in the UK and he was raised by his father until being sent for age nine.

He made the two-week boat journey alone, eventually arriving to 1960s’ England, a time when window signs read ‘No blacks, No dogs, No Irish’.

Bazil vividly remembers encountering frequent racist abuse, being only one of two non-white children in the school he attended.

These problems were compounded further by violence experienced at home at the hands of his step-father.

But Bazil did find “refuge”- in music.

“I found myself. It made me recognise a person inside I didn’t know before,” he remembers.

It was through Dr Olive Parris, a youth minister at the church Bazil attended, that Bazil found real sanctuary. Years after he still speaks lovingly of her influence, and of the stack of vinyl records she bestowed to him. Like James Cleveland and Shirley Caesar or The Mighty Clouds of Joy and Gene Martin - musicians who’d go on to become some of Bazil’s favourite, and still remain today.

“I’d started tinkering around with the guitar, and by ear I was able to get some chord ideas from my brother.

“She prayed over me. He prayed on my hands and asked God to give me the gift of music.”

With Dr Parris’ support, and a growing sense of self-awareness, Bazil found a “desire and passion” to share the way gospel made him feel with others.

Even in those difficult Thatcher years of the early 1980s, Bazil walked out of his job and started the LCGC with friends.

It wasn’t long after that they started getting noticed.

The choir debuted on television with a performance on Channel Four’s ‘Black on Black’.

One of Bazil’s bedrooms at home was soon turned into an office. “I didn’t want to be a car mechanic or work in an office. I wanted to inspire people,” says Bazil, who celebrates the vision of others to incorporate gospel and assembly music into more modern formats, like Kanye West on his timeless classic ‘Jesus Walks’, or Glastonbury headliner Stormzy on ‘Blinded By Your Grace’.

Music Bazil belives allows people move beyond skin colour and cultural differences.

“It’s introducing the music to so many more people who would never have looked at it before. It’s not so much about religion, it embodies so much more,” Bazil says of his chosen genre.

“I call it the potato of music. You can chip it, sauté it, mash it. You can cook it up whatever way you want and it’ll still end up with something wholesome.”

Drumlinia workshops

Other workshops at this year’s Drumlinia Festival include a Master Guitar Class with James Shannon, composition with Michele Busdraghi, TV presentation with Mary Kennedy, Claccical Trumpet with Viktor Boyko, songwriting with Sharon Vaughn, percussion with Lil Lontcheva, sound engineering with Peo Hedin, Radio presentation with John Keane, and animation with Deirdre Barry.

Workshops take place Friday, October 25 at venues across Cavan Town.