Jimmy and Ligia Van Rosi |
Jimmy Van Rosi
Stars Next Door
Jimmy Van Rosi
My life in music and
musicians
Jimmy
Van Rosi, born and bred in Kenya, is a multi-talented musician who is still
gigging around Canada with his equally talented wife Ligia, who is the daughter
of the legendary musician Mario Dias. Jimmy is a self-taught muso whose passion
has been appreciated through the decades by the thousands of people who have
seen him with the various bands he has played with. Like many musicians you
will meet (again) in this series, he is very respected by his peers.
THE
SPIDERS
The
Spiders group was formed in 1962. The initial group members were: Frank Van
Rosi on lead guitar, Felix Hermit on rhythm guitar, David Andrade on bass
guitar, Warren Mcmahon on vocals and I was the drummer.
When
Felix Hermit left the country, Charles (Sanu) Van Rosi joined the group and
took over the rhythm guitar. The band frequently performed at Delamere High
School, Cliff Richard Fan Club situated in Church House Nairobi, Woodley Club
and at very many private functions, clubs and parties.
The
Spiders appeared weekly for a short time on VOK TV’s Youth Club Program.
In
'63 Cliff Richard visited Kenya for a one night show at Rowallen Camp. There
was a competition the weekend before Cliff's visit at the Kenya Police
Regimental Hall, for the best band and best singer with the winners opening for
Cliff and being presented with the trophy. The Bata Shoeshine Boys won the
competition for best band with the Spiders as runners-up. Warren, who was a
vocalist with the Spiders, won as best singer. As Warren won the competition,
the Spiders and Warren opened for Cliff.
When
David Andrade left the country, Joe Peters (Jo Boy) joined the group as the
rhythm guitarist and Sanu Van Rosi took over the bass guitar.
When
Joe Peters left the group to form the Bandits, Vic Johnstone joined the group
as rhythm guitarist and also played the mouth organ.
When
Frank Van Rosi and Warren Mcmahon left the group, Luis Gracias joined as
drummer, Sanu Van Rosi played the lead guitar, Vic Johnstone stayed on rhythm,
I played the bass guitar and Gilbert Lopes joined as our vocalist.
When
Luis Gracias left the country, Paulie D’Souza joined us as the drummer.
The
group finally broke up in 1965 and all the band members joined other groups.
THE
PLAYBOYS
Clifford
D’Souza who played the keyboard started this group in the late 60’s. The others
were Leo Rodrigues on drums, Luis Fernandes on bass guitar, I was on rhythm
guitar and vocals and Brian Green, from the UK on alto sax. Brian was a trainer
from the Royal Air Force who was sent to Kenya to train members of the Kenya
Air Force.
The
Playboys performed on many occasions at the RAF Officers’ Mess, the Dam Busters
Club’s private parties and had a one-month contract at the New Stanley Grill.
One of the highlights of the month was when we performed on the same stage with
Jeremy Taylor of “Ag Pleeze Deddy” fame who was the cabaret artist for one
week. The Playboys also played for many private occasions at major hotels in
Nairobi.
When
Brian’s term of office ended, the band broke up and I moved to Mombasa where I
joined the Ghost Riders.
Clifford
and I now live in Canada and have performed together on very many occasions.
Leo and Luis live in the UK.
THE
GHOST RIDERS
In
the early ‘70’s, I went to live in Mombasa and joined a group called the Ghost
Riders. The band was already in existence.
The
musicians were: Jeff Pillay on rhythm guitar, Francis Port Louis on bass
guitar, Roger D’Silva, (who was only 12 years old) on drums, Desmond Port Louis
on lead guitar and I was on rhythm and lead guitar.
The
band performed at the Little Theatre Club, Stella Maria Club and the Mombasa
Institute on a regular basis.
We
entered into a band competition that was held at the Mombasa Institute on a
Sunday. The Ghost Riders tied for 1st place with the Shiftars Band. The
Romantics took 2nd place. As the organizers of the event did not anticipate a
tie for 1st place, they contacted Mombasa Sports Club to obtain extra trophies
to be presented to both bands who tied for 1st place.
The
Ghost Riders broke up when Francis and Jeff left to study in the UK.
Jeff
and Francis now live in the UK. Desmond lives in Seychelles, Roger lives in
Ireland and I in Canada.
THE
BAND
In
1984, soon after Ligia and I got married, we formed a group called The Band.
We
had Roger Athaide on bass guitar, Ligia on keyboard and vocals, Lesley
Mascarenhas on lead guitar, Benny Athanasius on drums, Dinesh Patel on lead
vocals and I was on rhythm guitar and vocals. The only African musician was the very famous John Zenze who played lead
guitar. John is still performing in Kenya even though he is in his late 70’s –
early 80’s.
Benny
left the band when he got married and Tony Fernandes joined us for a short time
on drums. Upon Tony’s departure, Jimmy took over the drums and sang.
The
Band played for private functions at the Intercontinental Hotel, Pan Afric
Hotel, Goan Gymkhana and the Nairobi Institute.
One
of the most memorable performances of our time together was playing for the
developers and contractors of the Kiambere Hydro Electric Dam at their
Christmas party. The organisers sent a bus to pick us up from the Holy Family
Cathedral and took us to the venue where we spent Saturday night in extremely
lavish bedrooms. When we arrived at Kiambere and were setting up our equipment,
Jimmy realised he had left his cymbals in the organisation’s offices in Nairobi
– about a three-hour drive away. So he played all night using only his
tom-toms, snare and bass drums. Whenever he had to hit the cymbals, he hit the
air which caused the patrons to dissolve in laughter. This performance got us a
few extra gigs from the patrons who were present, as they enjoyed our
performance and selection of music. The band broke up in 1987 when my wife and
I left for Canada. Roger and Lesley have since passed away. Dinesh is in the
UK, Benny and John is still in Nairobi and Tony is in Canada.
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