Fela Kuti once said that without Tony Allen, there would be no Afrobeat. Few musicians have received a tribute like that from a bandleader known for his ego.
Tony Oladipo Allen was born in Lagos in 1940. His father was Nigerian and his mother of Ghanaian heritage. He taught himself to drum as a teenager, listening to jazz drummers such as Art Blakey and Max Roach and to highlife.
With Fela
In the mid-1960s, Allen joined Fela’s band, Koola Lobitos, which became Nigeria 70 and then Africa 70. Allen’s drumming, which combined jazz, highlife, funk and Yoruba rhythms into flowing, interlocking patterns, became the engine of Afrobeat. He played on dozens of Fela’s albums, including Zombie and Expensive Shit.
Allen used all four limbs independently, creating a sound that musicians described as several drummers playing at once.
Leaving
In 1979, Allen left Fela’s band, reportedly over money and the growing size of the band. He formed his own group and later moved to London and then Paris, where he lived for the rest of his life.
Solo and collaborations
Allen released solo albums and worked with a wide range of musicians. He played with Damon Albarn, Paul Simonon and Simon Tong in the band The Good, the Bad & the Queen, and with Albarn and Flea in Rocket Juice & the Moon. He recorded with Hugh Masekela, and with the Detroit techno producer Jeff Mills.
Praise
Brian Eno called him perhaps the greatest drummer who has ever lived. Drummers around the world studied his technique. His autobiography, Tony Allen: Master Drummer of Afrobeat, written with the scholar Michael Veal, was published in 2013.
Death
Tony Allen died in Paris on 30 April 2020, aged 79. Tributes came from musicians across many genres. A posthumous album, There Is No End, was released in 2021.
Legacy
Allen’s drumming is at the heart of Afrobeat and has influenced hip-hop, funk, jazz and electronic music. Drummers who play Afrobeat today still learn his patterns.
Listening
Listen to classic Fela tracks such as “Zombie” and “Water No Get Enemy” and focus on the drums. Then try his later albums, such as Film of Life, released in 2014.
Fela got the headlines, the controversy and the fame. Tony Allen gave him the rhythm that made it all move.
