In 1982, the first Womad music festival was held in Shepton Mallet, UK. The organisation, which stands for World Of Music Arts And Dance, was set up in 1980 by English rock star Peter Gabriel (Genesis), Thomas Brooman, Bob Hooton, Mark Kidel, Stephen Pritchard, Martin Elbourne and Jonathan Arthur.
The first festival featured many acts who have appeared in this column, including Osibisa (the first African I saw perform at university in 1975), Kanda Bongo Man and Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. At the time, the organisers said that they were keen to provide space for acts that did not get the kind of international exposure that other acts enjoyed at venues like the famous Glastonbury Festival. Womad also set up a record label, Real World, to record some of the acts that performed at the festival.
This past June, Womad returned after a two-year hiatus to Pilton in Somerset to celebrate the festival's 40th anniversary. For the 2022 edition, Congolese groove master Kanda Bongo Man returned, and he was joined by another Womad stalwart Brazilian Gilberto Gil. Tributes were performed for the late Qawwali maestro Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan (his ground-breaking gig at Womad 1985 launched his international career and exposed many people to the wonders of Qawwali music). They were joined by 150 acts from around the planet performing on different stages (this year, ADG7 stunned audiences with their mix of modern and traditional Korean music and their funky cooking shows).
Remmy Ongala.
Womad was exported to many countries, mainly in Western cities and one or two in Asia. I was at the first Womad to be held in Japan in 1991, which was a wonderful experience. I remember very clearly some brilliant performances by The Pogues, The Rinkenband (Okinawa), Remy Ongala (Congolese via Tanzania) and, one that won over my sceptical Japanese friends, a killer enka set from the legendary singer Miyako Harumi. After the latter's stage show, my friends became fans of enka (a bit like Thai pleng luk thung). Sadly, Womad packed up after two festivals; it also featured in Singapore from 1998 to 2007 but World Beat did not get an invitation to that one. These days, the premier Womad event in the region is held annually in Adelaide, Australia.
Womad did have an influence on local events. The Rainforest World Music Festival held each year in Sarawak, Malaysia, was roughly based on the Womad model and has been going strong for more than two decades. It's certainly one of the best music festivals in the region.
To celebrate the 40th anniversary, Real World has released a double CD/vinyl Live At WOMAD 1982. Previously unreleased live shows include performances from The Drummers of Burundi, The Musicians of the Nile, Salsa de Hoy, Perter Gabriel, The Chieftains, Echo and the Bunnymen, Simple Minds, Robert Fripp and The Beat, among others. The label has also reissued some of its early albums, some of which are worth checking out if you didn't the first time around. In my music collection, I have seminal albums from the label's early releases by Farafina, The Holmes Brothers (with Reny Ongala), Remmy Ongala and Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. The label also has some samplers from the past decades, such as Worldwide – 50 Years Of Real World Music. More information from realworldrecords.com.
Womad never made it to Thailand, although the Wonderfuit Festival, held each year in December, does have some of the same elements as Womad. The musical line-up is certainly eclectic, but it has more emphasis on indie rock and local music.
Pimjai Petchpalangjai with All-Thidsa Molam Band at Wonderfruit 2019.
Sometimes though Wonderfruit puts some exciting, imported acts on at odd times when few people turn up to see them. Nonetheless, one of the most interesting stages is usually the Molam Bus stage which has featured legendary acts like Dao Bandon, Sombat Simla and Kwanjit Sriprachan (Pleng Choi, Pleng Iseo). World Beat is usually there to catch the action, and I look forward to this year's event from Dec 15-18 as Maft Sai of Zudrangma and Bangkok Paradise Molam International Band fame will take over the Molam Bus for the festival. Angkananang Kunchai, Toomturn Molam Group, DJ Ga-Pi, Kammao Phin Pra-Inn and Sombat Simla will all perform on the Molam Bus stage. More information from wonderfruit.co.
John Clewley can be contacted at clewley.john@gmail.com
