In the late 1970s and early 1980s, Ghana’s economy was in crisis, and many musicians left the country to find work abroad. A number of them settled in West Germany, playing in clubs and recording in local studios. There they began to change highlife, adding synthesisers, drum machines and a polished pop sound. Back home, the new style was called burger highlife, after Hamburg, one of the German cities where Ghanaian migrants lived. One of its leading figures was the guitarist George Darko.
Germany and George Darko
The economic hardship and political turmoil of the period, including coups and shortages, pushed many Ghanaians to emigrate. Musicians were among them, as nightlife at home shrank and curfews restricted performances. In Germany, Ghanaian musicians played for migrant communities and German audiences. They had access to new equipment, including keyboards and electronic drums, that was expensive or unavailable in Ghana.
George Darko was a skilled guitarist who had played in bands in Ghana before moving to Germany. There he formed groups with other Ghanaian musicians and began recording.
Akoo Te Brofo and burger highlife
His 1983 song Akoo Te Brofo, which means “the parrot understands English,” became a huge hit in Ghana. Its bright guitar, synthesisers and catchy chorus defined the burger highlife sound. Burger highlife kept the melodies and guitar patterns of classic highlife but added electronic textures and a disco influence. Lyrics were often in Twi. Other musicians associated with the style include Charles Amoah and Lumba Brothers, the duo of Daddy Lumba and Nana Acheampong, who also launched their careers in Germany.
Records made in Germany were sent home and played on Ghanaian radio and at parties. For many Ghanaians, burger highlife became the sound of the 1980s.
Criticism and influence
Some musicians and critics complained that drum machines replaced live drummers and that the sound lost some of highlife’s warmth. Others welcomed it as modern and exciting. Burger highlife paved the way for the hiplife and contemporary highlife styles that followed. Many modern Ghanaian producers still draw on its keyboard sounds. The songs were made for dancing, and they filled floors at parties and nightclubs in Accra and Kumasi as well as in Germany.
The parrot in George Darko’s song understood English. Ghanaian listeners in the 1980s understood that the song itself had travelled a long way to reach them.
